


Shattered

by Jonn_Wolfe



Series: Rose River Alternate Universe [8]
Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-28
Updated: 2014-12-28
Packaged: 2018-03-04 00:25:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 45,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2902640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jonn_Wolfe/pseuds/Jonn_Wolfe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>End of Time Rewrite. They've been told it is coming through the dark. What it is, and what it represents will change their lives forever. Rated M for language, violence, and non-explicit intimate settings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shattered

## *Chapter 1*: Prologue

* * *

_From the Darkness they Dwell_  
The Hearts of Madness Swell  
The Storm of the Wolf Shall Call  
The Maelstrom of the Lion Shall Fall  
Sacrifice of the Mothers Cries  
Scions of the Other Rise

_Fixed_

_Fixed_

_Fixed_

_Ancient Pythian Prophecy from the Sisterhood of Karn  
Circa: The Dark Times_

* * *

Four days after the 'Year That Never Was', a woman sat quietly and patiently. Looking down from her perch in an oak tree, she was satisfied that she was hidden in the darkness. The pyre below twisted her heart like a knife, but that paled against the hatred of the man that stood vigil. Hate was the only thing stemming her tears. He seemed to be waiting for something as much as she waited for him to leave. Her thumbs idly ran over her red nail varnish as she watched.

Hours later, she shifted slightly on the branch as he mercifully walked away. Watching him, she was unsure which was the more absurd: the length of his coat, or the red of those ridiculous plimsolls he deemed to wear with a suit. Regardless, she slipped down from the tree once he was finally gone.

Flexing her back and rubbing her blood deprived buttocks, she went down to search. One thing she was certain of: She _would_ get her husband back. A slight mad smile on her lips, Lucy Saxon retrieved the ring then laughed as she proceeded to search through the ashes. "The Doctor is _such_ a fool," she muttered, wincing from the heat.

* * *

Time and money can make anything happen if you have enough, and Lady Lucille Tarminster had plenty of both. Sixteen months of bribes, payments, and oaths helped her procure the artefact. Two more months of patience, and the bone fragment in the coffin like alien device had grown.

Every night she'd checked its progress, swirling her fingers in the milky liquid. She may not have had the intelligence to run this Sontaran contraption herself, but four million pounds could buy anyone's loyalty... even a scientist's. All she had to do, was make sure he never saw what or _who_ was growing in the vat.

Only after the body was ready did she get rid of Patterson. While he was a likeable old bloke, his ties with UNIT made him a liability. Celebratory wine with a dash of cyanide took care of him.

Lucy read off her mental check list as she quadruple checked the device in the mansion's basement. Her husband devised and invented it, before using it as a baseline for the Archangel Network. Satisfied that it was active, she walked to the other device she fondly called the 'Rebirthing Chamber'.

Forcing the lid open, she stood over the liquid and tried desperately not to cry. Coming to herself, she pulled off her necklace and removed the ring dangling from it. Kissing it reverently, she sat on the side of the Chamber and reached in to take hold of the body's left hand.

Biting her lip, she slid the ring on the ring finger and held it out of the liquid. A few moments passed before it briefly glowed. Whatever energy was within it slipped into the skin and ran down towards the head.

Another moments pause. She reminded herself that he'd said it would take a bit before it would take hold, and to not despair the waiting. Before long, the hand gripped hers and she started laughing. The liquid rippled, then splashed her as the Master sat up screaming.

"I'm here, Harry. I'm here!" she soothed, reaching to hold the back of his head with her other hand. His eyes were wild and darting every which way before they landed on her. Breathing rapidly, a mad toothy smile went over his face just before he belted out a loud cackle.

"Lucy!" the Master shouted, just before he grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her in for a snog. Breaking the kiss abruptly, his tongue came out of his mouth with a look of disgust. "Ugh, Sontaran clone juice. Oh, that's _nasty_!"

"I don't care," Lucy said, kissing him again. _'I so don't care,'_ she said in his mind. _'I've been going completely mad without you!'_

_'Oh my dear, sweet Lucy,'_ he said with real emotion. _'I'm never leaving you alone again.'_

_'Kill that bastard!'_ she mentally yelled while she drowned in his lips.

The Master smirked through their kiss. _'Oh, I have serious plans for the Doctor, dearest. That year was a test to see if he'd become lax with his abilities. Now that I know his full strength, the_ real _fun begins.'_ He broke the kiss and smiled. "But first... shower. I _really_ smell," he chuckled.

Lucy surprised him when she popped the umbilical cord from the back of his neck. "I don't care how you taste or smell, husband of mine," she growled, "but I'll wash you if you promise to fuck me blind. God, I missed you!" She threw her arms around him and started sobbing. " _Please_ don't ask me to shoot you again. That nearly _killed_ me!" she begged.

The Master actually frowned upon hearing that, and he held her while she cried. "You love me that much?" he whispered. Her response overwhelmed him as she projected the love she felt for him over their bond. It came damned close to actually _silencing_ the drums.

"Shower... shag... Shagging shower," he stuttered, a bit amused at the alliteration. She helped him stand and get out of the vat, then they walked to one of the lower rooms with their arms around each other.

They came into the wash room and he stared at his reflection, frowning. "Damn. Everyone in the world knows this face."

"You could grow a beard again," Lucy offered while shimmying out of her clothes. "Can dye or bleach your hair too, if you want. I've got enough hair products to open my own chain of stores."

The Master turned to look at her with a bit of surprise. "That is a rather brilliant idea." Smiling, he turned back to the mirror while she turned on the water. "Hmm. Never been blond before," he muttered while running his hands over his cheeks. "Yes. We can try that."

Lucy smiled wickedly, then yanked him towards the shower. "Oh yeah. I like blond."

Under the water now, he noticed something. "What happened to your hand?" he asked, holding her left one up closer to his face. Her pinky and ring fingers were fused together, the skin mottled and rippled with scars.

She shrugged. "Burned it when I dug through the ashes. Don't worry. It was worth it. Your left thigh bone had enough untouched marrow for the cloning vat."

He shook his head and kissed the merged digits. "This will never do. I can repair that rather easily, and give you control over your fingers again."

Lucy rested her right hand on the side of his face. "You're alive. That's all I care about."

Grinning, he kissed her. "Quite right, too." He pressed her against the tiled wall of the shower, then entered her with a gasp. "Like blonds, do you?"

Laughing deliriously, she nodded. "Oh, yes. Definitely!" she shouted.

* * *

## *Chapter 2*: Messages and History

* * *

"Pause that," Pete said, standing up. He left Jackie and Tony and went to his home office to make a call.

Jackie watched him go, then looked back to Rose's frozen image on the screen. Having just listened to her daughter explain her latest, and rather gruesome 'adventure' – which she internally labelled 'disaster' instead – she was stuck between being upset over it and insanely proud of her. The mere thought of her becoming an actual Baroness wasn't something she conceived possible. And, while she'd gotten over the fact that she had a fully grown granddaughter by this point, Jackie was completely beside herself when she found out that Rose was pregnant.

In his office, Pete had the phone up to his ear. "Danny? Yeah, it's me. Listen, I need you to do a lookup for anything related to a species known either as the 456 or Macra – in relation to anywhere around 1965. Yeah, thanks." While he was waiting, he fetched a cigarette from his desk drawer and lit it, then took a seat. "That doesn't sound like anything I've heard about. No, it's nothing. Sorry to bother you. What's that?"

Pete leaned forward and rested his hand on the desk. "Where in the _blue fuck_ did you hear that name?" he shouted into the phone. After listening for a few minutes, Pete dropped the phone in wide eyed shock.

Jackie ran in when she heard him shouting. "What's all the noise?"

Not bothering to hang up the phone, Pete held a finger to his lips, then went back into the living room. "Tony? Son, check the house security on the mainframe. We may have been compromised."

* * *

It was several days after the 456 incident, and the Hub still had a blue box next to the couch. Rose had flat out demanded to go maternity shopping with Gwen. With things on a rather high note, the Doctor agreed to an extended stopover. Besides, he wasn't about to do anything to jeopardize his unborn son.

The Doctor had made a point to avoid Jack for a while, and had corralled Mickey and Rhys into the media centre of the TARDIS to basically not talk about children for a while. Which, in hindsight was a bit of a mistake. Rhys was beyond chuffed over the whole thing, and Mickey was giving him amused knowing looks. The lot of them ended up getting pissed in no small part by the Doctor pouring the drinks. That upped the ante, and Rhys ended up joining him on pestering Mickey over being the odd man out.

Jack had been showing John some of their more interesting artefacts from the archive safe in his office. About halfway through his presentation, Jack seemed to space out on him.

Amused at the somewhat pleasant look on Jack's face, John clicked his fingers in his face. "Earth to Captain Harkness, Earth to Captain Harkness. There seems to be a breach in the telepathic firewall," he said with a chuckle.

* * *

At that same time in a little shop called 'Swells', Rose noticed a blissful look on Jenny's face. "Oi, focus! Does this look nice or not?" she asked, holding a light purple floral maternity top up to herself.

"It's a nice colour on you, mum," Jenny said, barely paying attention. She was far more interested in the feelings she and Jack were slipping back and forth over the distance.

Rose's giggling made Jenny look at her in confusion. "What?"

"Nothing," Rose smirked. "I just know that look. Would you mind too terribly in shelving Jack for a while, and help me find stuff? Or, should I go over to Martha and Gwen while you get all slap happy?"

Frowning, Jenny gave her a petulant look. "Oh, c'mon. Dad's been doing his best to make sure we aren't alone together. What is he afraid of?"

"Look where we are, swee'hear'," Rose said with a sweeping arm going around the store. "I don't think he's ready for you to be doing the shopping here for yourself."

Jenny glared at her. "We haven't even had the _chance_ for that yet! The way Dad keeps going, it'll be the middle of the next epoch before he'll let me within five feet of my _bondsmate_!"

"Oi! You two!" Gwen shouted from across the store. Once she had their attention, she pointed at her own ear with a chastising look. "Keep it down, will ya?" Martha could be seen peeking over a clothing rack with a similar annoyed expression on her face.

* * *

"Jack?" John tried again, this time nudging him.

Blinking, Jack turned an embarrassed smile over to John. "Sorry. She's a bit … enthusiastic."

Rolling his eyes with a smirk, John tapped the box Jack had yet to open. "You were saying?"

Shaking himself, Jack looked down. "Yeah, okay. Sorry. These two caused us a lot of problems, although half of that was completely my fault."

"What do you mean?" John asked.

Jack opened the lid to some bits of metal. "One of my people was shot, and I wasn't ready to let go of him just yet. Used one of these to bring him back. Didn't work like I hoped though, because he was a literal walking corpse."

Eyebrows hitting his hairline, John looked down into the box. The metal bits seemed to shine with a light blue when he did. Backing his head away from the lid, he looked at Jack. "What were they?"

"Gloves. Well, gauntlets done up like plate armour." He would've said more, but John interrupted him.

"Can't be… It can't!" John shouted, then closed his eyes to call his brother.

* * *

"Will you just leave it? It tastes good!" Wilf shouted at his daughter, who was busy taking a heavy meat sandwich from him.

Sylvia scowled at him. "You know your cholesterol needs to come down! Stuff like this will put you in the hospital! I've told you a thousand times…"

"Oh, leave him alone," Donna said, coming into the kitchen. She bent down and kissed Wilf on the forehead. "Hi Gramps. She blockading your stomach again?"

Wilf got hold of Donna's forearm. "I can't take another one of those tofu casseroles. I just can't! It's like eating a glue block stuffed with erasers."

Sylvia's eyes got big, but before she could say anything Donna had Wilf up and was headed for the door. "We're going to a chippy. Back later. Tirra!"

"Donna Michelle Noble!" Sylvia shrieked as the door shut behind them.

* * *

"Whoa," Rose said quietly as she wobbled. Jenny and Martha caught her from the side and helped her to one of the seating benches throughout the place. Martha immediately started checking her pulse as Gwen came over.

Kneeling in front of her, Gwen put her hand on Rose's forehead. "You all right there? Wee one got you swimming, yeah?"

Smiling and shaking her head, Rose chuckled. "Would you believe that my husband is _drunk_?" she said quietly. Three sets of eyes all widened on hearing that, then she looked at Gwen and Martha. "Yours too, from the sound of it."

"Bloody hell," Martha swore and rolled her eyes.

Gwen sighed and looked at them. "Remind me to smack mine up the back of the head when we get back."

"I'll join you," Rose said. "Mine can get sober whenever he wants, and now he's got yours all done up as well. Idiot. Like drinking will get him over," she indicated Jenny with a wave of her hand.

Jenny simply rolled her eyes at that.

* * *

Jack and John took one look at the Doctor as he stuck his head in and snickered. He had his tie wrapped around his forehead, and a scowl on his face. "This better be good. Rhys and I have nearly convinced Mickey to knock Martha up before the wedding."

After the pair nearly shattered the windows from laughing so hard, John went over an poked him in the chest. "You. Sober up. Now. Bits of our past have come to bite us in the proverbial."

The Doctor blinked in confusion, then seemed to be somewhat coherent. "All right. A hundred year old Delruvian malt gone to waste. What is it?" he groused.

Jack repeated what he told John before, and the Doctor looked down into the box. "Can't be. Can it?"

"They lit up when I looked in. See what they make of you," John said.

Reaching in to pick up a piece, the Doctor both was and wasn't all that surprised when the fragments lifted up to surround his hand. He winced when they fused together and reformed the gauntlet over it. When it stopped glowing a bright blue, he flexed his fingers with a clinking of metal. "It's real."

His gun out from remembering all the trouble either of them gave him, Jack could only stutter out, "What … Y-you know what it is?"

Since the Doctor was busy being inundated with questions from both Rose and Jenny over his mood, John answered for him. "That… Well, it's had many names over the centuries, and we thought it lost with the rest of our world." Jack blanched at that, staring at the gauntlet. "It's…" John trailed off and had to sit down.

The Doctor finished the thought. "It's the Hand of Omega."

* * *

 

## *Chapter 3*: Conversations, Chips, and Coercion

* * *

Staring at the gauntlet on the Doctor's hand, Jack was more than a little confused. "The hand of omigod?"

" _Oh_ -meh-gah," John enunciated, "like the Greek letter. Even thought he didn't build it, Rassilon named it after him when he was 'lost' from creating the Eye of Harmony."

The Doctor slipped his tie off his head and simply studied the gauntlet. Intricate scrolling writing from before the Time of Legend peppered the entire thing. Those that didn't have a sensitivity to time wouldn't have been able to see it at all, but he could make out the faint writings rather plainly. "Never seen it outside the box before," he commented.

"Hand of … Eye of … Are body parts normally used in naming things where you're from?" Jack asked, slightly amused. Honestly, the way these two were acting, some humour wasn't that bad of an idea right then.

John snickered and tilted his head. "Well, not everything. But now that you mention it, the Rod of Rassilon has an entirely new meaning now."

He grinned when Jack laughed at the innuendo, but frowned when the Doctor scowled at him with a simple 'Stop it'. Standing, he came over and shouldered his brother from the side. "Oh, c'mon. A little levity never hurt anyone." Peeking in the box, John raised his eyebrows. "Thought you said there were two of those?"

Jack looked in the box and frowned. "Yeah, the other one sort of dissolved and turned into the Grim Reaper."

In the meantime, the Doctor had his mouth open slightly while his eyes were bugging out. " _Two_ of them?"

"Well, they do come in pairs," Ianto quipped from the door. He brought in a tray of coffee and set it on Jack's desk. When Jack gave him a look of regret, Ianto simply nodded. "Sir." He then left without saying more.

"Have you apologized to him yet?" John asked.

Jack shook his head. "He wont let me. Every time I try, he whips out formality and goes to do something else."

"Give him time," the Doctor said absently. He was busy reading the words on the gauntlet, and hadn't intended to speak. However, a piece of his mind noticed, and a half grin went over his face.

Jack took his seat behind the desk and looked up at the pair. "Thanks. You know, we could never translate what was on it. Had a scanner that did just about what the TARDIS does automatically, but it couldn't read that at all." He pursed his lips and grabbed his coffee for a sip. "Now that I think about it, the others couldn't even see it."

The twins glanced at him with opposite upturned brows, then the Doctor went into lecture mode. "Doesn't surprise me that one of them wandered off. This one is partially sentient, so if there was a second one it stands to reason that it could be as well, Grim Reaper notwithstanding." He held it up so Jack could see it better. "This one followed me from Gallifrey when I left for good the first time."

Jack tilted his head. "Like a lost puppy?"

John snorted. "Not really, but that's as good an explanation as any."

"So, what is it supposed to do?" Jack asked.

"Well," the Doctor said, taking it off his hand, "among other things, it collapses stars into singularities."

John snickered at the shocked and horrified look Jack had on his face from that revelation.

* * *

The TARDIS, having felt the connection of the Hand of Omega with her pilot, began running coolant back and forth between her various systems, fretting. _Soon, soon. It will happen, has happened, is happening, must happen. Immediate. Pain. Loss. Oh, my boy. I'm so sorry._

* * *

Wilf gave Donna a dry look in the queue of the chippy. "What's the point of bringing me here, if I can't have what I want?"

Grinning apologetically at him, Donna rubbed his shoulder. "At least it's not tofu, but fried is off the menu. So, baked or grilled?" she asked again.

He sighed and slumped his shoulders. "Oh, all right. Baked, then."

Donna smiled wide. "I'll take care of it. Go get us a table?" She kissed his cheek, then patted his back when he left.

Sitting at a table in the corner, Wilf sighed over the downsides of getting old. Closing his eyes, he rested his chin in his left hand and began drumming his fingers of his right on the table. He opened his eyes when someone took hold of his restless fingers, and was startled that it wasn't Donna.

The woman was somewhat younger than he was, but not by much if appearances were anything to go by. Her hair was streaked with silver, and was loosely done. It barely touched her stark white jacket, and he found it odd that it looked like that was the only colour she seemed to be wearing. "Don't react, Wilfred Mott," she said quietly. "I'm not really here, and it will look rather odd if you started talking to no one."

Wilf blinked in confusion, but kept his mouth shut. Other than the fact that he thought she was lovely, he really wanted to know who she was.

"Just a friend," she answered his unspoken question, "and thank you. It has been some time since anyone noticed my appearance," she smiled and looked to be amused by Wilf's slight flush. "The time is coming when the Doctor will need your help. The crux of his greatest loss will visit him again, and he will need your wisdom."

Donna distracted Wilf when she set his tray in front of him and sat down across the table. "You all right? Look like you've seen a ghost?"

A quick glance back to his right, the woman in white was gone. Shaken somewhat, he looked back to his granddaughter. "M'fine. Thanks for bringing me here. Your mother's been a right bloody nightmare." He frowned and rubbed his forehead while reaching for the vinegar. "Speaking of nightmares…" he muttered.

"They still bothering you?" Donna asked, concerned. "Any idea what they're about?"

Wilf shook his head and doused his fish with vinegar. "Not a flippin' clue, love. Just some bloke laughing his arse off."

"Strange," she said, cutting into her fish.

He eyed her and saw the far away look she had. "How 'bout you, then? Still excited about the wedding?"

Donna gave him a small fake smile. "Sure. Shawn's wonderful."

* * *

The round door of the hub opened, and Rose led the small gaggle of females inside. "All right, where's that daft idiot husband of mine?" she called out.

John stuck his head out of Jack's office. "Up here, love. The other two are in there, if you're wondering," he said while pointing at the TARDIS. The smirk on his face was rather telling.

Gwen and Martha looked at each other, then set their bags on the floor before heading to the ship. Both of them appeared ready to shout the place down. Dropping her own bags, Rose stomped her way to Jack's office, with Jenny right behind her.

Seeing the look on Rose's face, John decided discretion was the better part of valour and went to the far side of the room. He mumbled an, 'Oh blimey,' when he went past the desk.

Stopping at the door, Rose crossed her arms and glared at the Doctor. "Bad enough you have your head up your arse, but bringing Mickey and Rhys in on it?" Her foot started tapping. "Jenny? Make a point of it."

When Rose stepped to the side, Jenny came in with a huge smile on her face. "Hi dad," she waved with her fingers. Then she hopped the desk and landed in Jack's lap. "Hel- _lo_ , sweetheart," she said with a lilt in her voice, just before she snogged him.

"I don't need to see this," the Doctor grumbled, heading for the door. He was blocked by his wife, though, who planted her feet and crossed her arms again.

"You are going to watch this, accept it, then get on with yourself," Rose said with a glower. "That, or I'm going to make you watch them while they do what we _used to_ do."

John snorted in the back.

"But… _Rose_!" The Doctor protested.

She shook her head. "Noooo. Past time you understood what my mother's been going through. Don't you think?"

In the meantime, Jack had lost all sense of what was going on due to Jenny making up for several days of absence.

* * *

Martha and Gwen entered the TARDIS and immediately froze inside the door, casting confused glances at each other.

"You feel that?" Martha asked.

Gwen nodded. "S'like it's lighter in here, or something."

When they were in the corridors, Gwen spoke up again. "How've you been sleeping, since everything?"

Martha frowned. "Rather fitfully, if you want the truth. Why?"

"Same," Gwen said. "Was having night terrors before, but they went away when we slept in here. Now they're back." She turned to look at Martha, but found she'd stopped a few steps behind her. "Martha?"

She was looking at her with wide eyes. "That can't be a coincidence," Martha said quietly.

"You as well?" Gwen asked her.

Martha nodded. "Yeah. Let's worry about that later, though. There are a pair of idiots that need tending first." She frowned and tilted her head. "Are they… singing?"

Looking around, Gwen rolled her eyes. "Oh, Lord, it's 'My Old Man's Dustman'."

Smirking, Martha stifled her snickers and got them moving again. "Sounds like they're three sheets to the wind. C'mon, lets collect them before they get to poking holes in the walls with darts."

* * *

The Doctor threw his hands in the air, unable to look at the couple any longer. "I give! I give! Uncle, already!"

Rose grinned at Jenny when she broke her kiss with Jack. "Told you, it'd work."

Giggling, Jenny had a large smile on her face. "I know, I know. Ten quid, right? Now can I have a proper relationship or not, dad?"

"Don't I get a say in this?" Jack asked with a smirk on his face.

Jenny and Rose looked at him. "No," they said at the same time.

The Doctor took in a rather huge lungful of air. "Jack, do you promise to put her before yourself in everything you do?" he asked while staring at the ceiling.

"I already told you that, Doctor," Jack said quietly.

"Right." Turning, the Doctor made to leave the room, only to be stopped by Rose, who had a hand in the centre of his chest.

"Say it," she prodded in a low voice.

Balling his fists, the Doctor glared over at them behind the desk. "You have my blessing," he said tersely through his teeth.

Rose grinned and pulled him down by his tie for a kiss. "Good boy. Off you go, then." The Doctor left while grumbling obscenities that would've made his brother proud.

"Well, now. That was inventive and rather terrifying, to be perfectly honest," John said with more of a smirk than should have been possible.

Rose grinned and motioned for him to leave with her. John only did so when he noticed that Jenny was quite literally devouring Jack's lips.

Closing the door behind them, John chuckled. "Good God, they're cute together."

"I know," Rose said with a sigh. "Makes you want to vomit, doesn't it?"

John gave her a sidelong look. "Tell me about it," he groused.

She noticed the expression on his face and flushed. "Sorry 'bout that. We'll find her soon, I promise."

John's hand went out and flapped at her, dismissively. "Don't remind me," he snapped.

* * *

 

## *Chapter 4*: Nefarious

* * *

"Status!"

The basement of Lady Lucille's mansion had been completely transformed since her husband's resurrection. Instead of the single open space that once housed the Sontaran cloning vat, it had office partitioned areas along the walls for various computer terminals, with a smaller open space in the middle running from one end to the other. If one didn't know better, it would've looked like an office floor of one of the smaller buildings in London. Would've, were it not for the lack of windows and the rather large metallic structure at the far end. It roughly resembled a small light set up for a band, but only had enough space for two or three people under it. Two technicians were tending power lines, attachments, and data cords running both to and from it.

Facing it on the other end of the room was a large and elaborate wooden desk, which had several flat screen monitors on it. They were a direct link to the different systems controlling the arch at the other end. Seated behind it, was a rather bored looking Master. Blond now, he had a full beard that was equally bleached. Even his eyebrows were lightened to match. The effect of which had him looking like a natural light gingered blond.

A young man stood up from one of the office 'cubicles' and hurried over to the main desk with a touch-screen laptop cradled like a clip board. "Power levels are steady at fifty percent, sir," he said while running his finger over the screen. "Current projections estimate that we are less than a week from a proper test."

"Very good," the Master said. "Can you be more specific as to the timetable?" There was a hint of a knowing smirk as he looked at the man.

"F-five days, sir. Tops," he stuttered.

The Master shook his head. "Make it four, Rossiter. I have an appointment on Thursday."

"Sir! I…" he started, but the look on the Master's face stole his protest. "Yes, sir. Of course, sir." He went back to his computer when he was waved off, and exchanged a worried look with a blond woman in the cubicle next to him before sitting down.

A phone on the desk chirped, and the Master picked up the receiver. "Yes? Oh, good. I'll be right up."

Watching 'Mr. Tetramers' leave the room, Rossiter stood and leaned over the partition. "He knows," he said quietly. "I don't know how, but he knows."

She looked up with a glare and shushed him. "Relax and get back to work," she hissed. "We'll be out of here before he has a chance to use that thing."

* * *

Lucy saw her husband come into the dining room and smiled. "That will be all, Gladys. Thank you." The elderly woman nodded and left them to their meal. "So," she asked with nonchalance as he sat at the table, "how long are you going to toy with those two aliens?"

Chuckling, he pulled the cover off of his plate. "Ooh, pheasant. You spoil me." Grinning, he slipped through their bond and stimulated the pleasure centre of her brain, enjoying the shiver she had over it. "As technicians go, they aren't that bad. They're just padding the timetable by a factor of four. Besides, we need to test the thing before going global." His smile was perfectly wicked with the thought.

"Tonight?" Lucy asked with a matching smile.

The Master nodded. "Absolutely."

"And the other?" she prodded him.

His smile was warm. "Don't worry about that. It'll work."

"Why do I get the feeling you're holding back?" she asked with a knowing look.

"Don't worry," he repeated, rubbing his fingers somewhat absently at something in his jacket pocket. "You're going to love it. I promise."

Feeling the truth of that statement through their bond, Lucy smiled contentedly.

Forking some vegetables, the Master began eating while listening to a soft voice that he kept from his bondsmate.

* * *

"If it's all the same to you, sir, I'd rather not talk about it," Ianto groused at John. He'd been cornered by both him and Rose in the 'coffee area', which was little more than a small alcove with a nineteenth century French coffee machine.

Rose frowned at him. "You do know that none of that was really planned, right?"

"I don't blame her," Ianto snapped, "but it is rather convenient, isn't it?" He shoved his way in between them, moving up the small stair.

John turned to go after him, "Ianto!" but was held back by Rose. Turning to look at her, he was surprised to see her looking somewhere else with large eyes. Following where she was looking, he came face to face with Ood Sigma. "Whoa! Hello there big fella! What are you doing here?"

"May I have permission?" Sigma asked. This startled the both of them, as his translation ball was in its holder and didn't light up.

Stammering, John said, "I, uhm, hmm. Sure?"

"Wait!" Rose said, completely alarmed.

John shook his head at her. "S'alright, he's a good guy."

The TARDIS door opened and the Doctor shot out of it, heading straight for his frightened wife. "What's the... oh! Hello there!" He came to a stop after hopping down the stair, landing between his brother and wife.

"Doctor. Good. This message is for all three of you." Ood Sigma's eyes closed, and the three Time Lords found themselves in a white mental plane.

The door to Jack's office opened, and Jenny looked down to see the three of them with their eyes closed. "Mum? Dad? What's wrong?" Her yellow blouse was askew, and her hair was down. Jack came up behind her looking equally dishevelled.

* * *

The Doctor looked around and took Rose's hand. John was just as confused. While Ood Sigma was in front of them, there was another Ood to his left that looked to be elderly. The twins noticed that the newcomer had his hind brain in his hand.

_"How are you contacting us? You're several thousand years in the future, aren't you?"_ the Doctor asked.

The elderly Ood inclined his head with a small nod. _"We are currently in contact with our ancestors through the hive mind. They are relaying this mental transmission. The Universe is in chaos."_

_"What's wrong?"_ John asked.

_"Time is bleeding,"_ the elder said. _"It is returning, he has returned, she will return, they will return. Transformation…"_

_"Stop,"_ the Doctor interrupted. _"Who are you talking about?"_

A series of images rushed over them. They saw multiple faces, including Lucy Saxon and the Master, who were both cackling with laughter.

_"Stop!"_ John shouted. _"He's dead! They all are, except for Lucy!"_

Rose only knew their faces from when she and the Doctor bonded, but the apprehension she was feeling from him was staggering. She remained quiet, and sent supportive and loving emotions to her husband while squeezing his hand.

_"He's right,"_ the Doctor said. _"I personally set his body on the funeral pyre."_

The elder Ood tilted his head. _"And yet, you did not see."_ More images came, and they saw Lucy watching the entire scene, before running down to search after the Doctor left. The images closed on her picking up a ring, muttering, then digging through the ashes with a spade.

_"Part of him survived?"_ John asked, completely appalled.

The Doctor shook his head. _"That doesn't make any sense at all. Lucy was abused by him. Why would she go about trying to bring him back?"_

_"The bond between them is as absolute as the Storm and the Wolf,"_ Ood Sigma answered, _"and will only grow stronger."_

While the Doctor and Rose were reeling from that, John shouted. _"Where are they?"_

_"When and where you are now,"_ the elder said. _"Their actions are affecting the Eternal Now, reverberating throughout time and space."_

* * *

The Master was dancing with Lucy around the dining table, lunch over and done with. Even though there was no audible music playing, they were dancing to the beat of the drums in his head. She didn't mind all that much. All she really cared about was that they were together.

While they were spinning about, he spoke to her very seriously. "Have you finished all the necessary preparations, my dear?" She nodded absently and pulled them closer together, gently swaying. "Good. Because after I show you this, you will have to stay within the barrier as well. Otherwise, he will know."

She pulled back slightly with wide eyes. "What do you mean?"

Feeling her anticipation, he slowed them to a stop and smiled. "It took me a long time to track this little item down. Fortunately, it was being held in an off site storage facility in Cardiff. Remember the delivery I got yesterday?"

Lucy looked at him quizzically, nodding. "Where are you going with this Koschei?"

He kissed her tenderly. "I want you to know that I truly love you, no matter what happened between us in the past. I've been worried that you wont after."

She had a concerned look on her face now. "Sweetheart, what is it? What could possibly make me not love you?"

Cupping her cheek with one hand, his other went to his pocket. "I loved you before, but could never tell you. I love you now, and I always will." Pulling his hand from his pocket, he held a necklace up so the pendant dangling from it was at her eye level.

Lucy's eyes were drawn to it, and she held up her hand to trace the strange looking circles that were engraved in the small silver oval. Blinking rapidly, she whispered. "What is it? It's beautiful."

Swallowing, the Master rubbed her cheek with his thumb. "It's you, my dear. Open it."

"Didn't I lose this?" she asked absently. She pinched the top and bottom with her thumb and forefinger, tripping the pendant open. Golden light began radiating from it, and she gasped.

When the light faded, she shrieked "No!" at the top of her lungs. The Master caught her and held her upright while she swooned. "They're dead!" she shouted. "They're all dead!"

Coming to herself, she looked at her husband and slapped him. "And _you_ were no help! Running to the end of the universe?"

"Now let's not start pointing fingers," he spoke up. "You hated this planet, remember?"

"I still do!" she snapped back. Then she realized that he really _was_ her husband. "You said you _loved_ me?"

His face was hard. "I still do."

Her head went back laughing, then she grabbed the sides of his head and snogged him. "I love you too, Koschei, you idiot."

Grinning ear to ear, the Master chuckled and hugged her. "I missed you."

She slapped his back lightly. "Enough of that. Is that Sontaran contraption finished yet?"

"Care to run a test?" he smirked.

She matched his smirk. "Absolutely. Now where are those two Vinvocci idiots? Their scent is all over the place." Pausing, she stared at him. "That drumming is real?"

"You can hear it?" he asked her, hope all over his face. When she nodded with a look of sympathy, his head went back in a huge cackle. "It's Real!"

She grabbed his head to make him look at her. "Stop. We'll figure this out and make it go away."

His response was to kiss her violently. _'Missed you Ushas. And I'm not another vassal for you to exploit you know.'_

_'Of course not,'_ she thought back. _'You're an experiment gone wrong.'_ The mirth of the joke caused them both to start laughing, breaking their snog.

* * *

 

## *Chapter 5*: Panic

* * *

_'There is more,'_ the elder Ood stated quite calmly, and a bit too serenely for Rose's liking. The twins were reeling from their previous bombshell, and the Ood's patient calm over it seemed to be completely out of place. ' _Their actions in the Eternal Now are reverberating beyond our present, and are being felt even in the Dark Times.'_

Incredibly angry, yet somewhat confused by that statement, John looked to his brother to see Rose trying to hold his focal centre together. Honestly, Theta's whirlwind of emotions were understandable. While he shared them, the more practical side of him that he got from Donna had him wanting to lash out over the whole ordeal. Looking back to the Ood, he tilted his head. ' _What_ is _it?'_ he snapped. ' _Or, should I ask_ Who _?'_

Stepping forward, the elder Ood opened a pouch pocket on the upper left side of his robes. Placing his hind brain inside it, he reached out to touch both of the brothers on their shoulders. The image of a greying raven haired woman flashed in their minds along with a scrolling symbol, which made both of them flinch away.

_'The Pythia?'_ the Doctor blurted, completely alarmed now. 'The. _Original. Matriarch?'_

Eyes agape, John was equally stunned. ' _What's_ she _have to do with this?'_

_'Pythia named the Othertide Prophesy,'_ Ood Sigma said calmly.

Beset with her husband's whirling confusion up to that moment, his point of clarity at that statement made Rose wince in outright pain. _'Blimey!'_ she complained. _'That's the woman who supposedly cursed Gallifrey with sterility, yeah?'_

Both Ood nodded and said, ' _Precisely, Wolf Mother.'_ As they said it, a multitude of Ood voices were heard along with them. The effect of which made it appear that every Ood voiced that statement.

While she didn't have the first clue what they were talking about, Rose's mouth hung open when she heard billions of voices name her 'Wolf Mother'. She didn't even notice her hands moving to cover her stomach protectively.

* * *

Looking down from the doorway to Jack's office, Jenny watched her parents and uncle open their eyes. She then felt John's rage as he exploded, spinning to punch the brick face behind him and actually cracking it with a shout. The force of which made her grab her own hand, feeling the pain shoot up her arm.

"Sonovabitch! That bastard _LIED_ TO US! ' _I refuse_ '," John mocked petulantly. Gritting his teeth through several language barriers of profanity, he cradled his hand. "And, I think I just broke all my metacarpals… fuck."

Rose immediately turned to hold on to the Doctor's lapels with both hands. "Theta, stop. Don't spiral." When he didn't seem to hear her, she shook him. "Look at me!" She waited till his blinking settled and focused on her. "We can deal with this. You're not alone. You don't have to do this by yourself any more," she soothed. "I'm here. I'll _always_ be here for you."

"He'll do things," the Doctor stated in naught but the breath that came out of his mouth. "Use you, _all_ of you against me. That man loves nothing more than to hurt those I care about, just to watch me suffer. I…"

"He wont get the chance!" John snapped at full volume. The bellow caused Ianto to poke his head over the monitor at his station, wondering what all the fuss was about.

Confused to the nines, Jenny hopped the railing down to where they were. "What's going on? Who are you talking about?"

Rose spared a glance in her direction, but was more focused on quelling the chaotic mess in her husband's mind. "The Master," she said quietly.

Jenny flinched as a plethora of painful memories of brutal torture ripped through her mind. Turning, she saw that Jack's face had turned a pale shade of white. "That was _him_?" she asked him with a glare. " _He_ did all that to you?"

Nodding, Jack blinked and wilfully forced his terror into a box. "That man is completely off his trolley, 'round the bend, _batshit_ crazy," he said quietly, before raising his voice. "He's alive? How the fucking hell did that happen?" he shouted at the Doctor. "You burned his body!"

Looking up at him, John tried to come up with an explanation. "Had to be a genetic memory sequencer inside that signet ring of his. Any form replication or cloning, and it will encapsulate all of his memories and mental capabilities into the new body."

The Doctor took Rose by the hand and went to Gwen's computer. She hugged him from behind, when he sat down and began a search for Lucy Saxon. "I need Rickey," he muttered, slipping into his wind up nickname for the man. "He's better at this than I am - for this period of computing that is. The internet is enough to make even me nuts."

Waving her closer, John got Jenny's attention. "Could you be a dear and fetch the portable bone mender for me please?" His voice was more than a little pained. "And while you're at it, ask Martha to come out after she gets Mickey settled. This involves her too."

Jenny nodded, but the Doctor spoke up with a shout. "Absolutely not! She _did_ her part! I'm not about to ask her for more with _him_!" Rose shushed in his ear and peppered kisses on his cheek.

"Go and get her, Jen. I'll deal with it, thanks," John whispered. She nodded and hurried off. Looking up at Jack, their determined and set jaws were almost identical. Opening a private telepathic channel to him, John made his case very plain. _'I don't give a tinkers damn what my brother wants. If we get the chance, that bastard dies. Get me?'_

Jack's only response was the glint of a dark grin, as he nodded in full agreement.

* * *

The woman formally known as Lucy Saxon sat in her posh estate. The bedroom used to be in a better state of repair, but a flurry of angry and manic activity had reduced it to a shambles. Sitting cross legged on the broken bed, the Rani rocked back and forth and attempted to silence the noise. "I want to kill him," she said quietly in the dark. "I cannot kill him, but I want to kill him. He needs to die for this outrage that he's visited upon me, but to do so would break what little sanity I have left."

That thought of sanity caused her head to go back as hysterical cackling ripped out of her. The entire situation was beyond intolerable, but there was nothing she could do about it. Her laughter changed to sobbing rather abruptly, and she gripped her hair in a futile attempt to quiet her mind. The rhythmic beat was playing counterpoint to her heartsbeat, eroding her mind like nails on a chalkboard. "I hate you!" she screamed. "Help me!"

The bedroom door opened, and Miss Adams came rushing in. "I'm here, I'm here."

The Rani took one look at her and scowled. "Turn that damned thing off before I belt you!"

Touching her watch, Miss Adams shimmered into a carbon copy of the Rani. "Stop this. You have to focus."

"The only thing I can focus on is wanting to choke the life out of that man," she spat bitterly.

Her double knelt in front of her and nodded. "If that is what it takes to push it out of your mind, then do so."

"But I love him!" she wailed. "I love him, I hate him, I love him, I…" Still holding onto her hair, she pulled to the point of pain and screamed.

Her double pulled out a radio and thumbed the switch. "Is he doing any better than she is?"

There was a squawk on her hand-held, and the Master's voice was heard. 'He's still trying to beat his head against the wall. Whatever happened to cause this, their bond is amplifying it.'

"That's what I was afraid of," she said. "Looks like it's up to us then.

'Right. Not exactly what he had in mind, I must say.'

Quivering and whimpering, the Rani was falling apart. "I want my TARDIS. I want my TARDIS. I want my TARDIS. I WANT MY BOY!" she wailed.

The double looked up and hit the switch again. "I just had a brilliant idea. Meet me in the sub basement."

'There's a sub basement?'

* * *

 

## *Chapter 6*: Disturbing Things

* * *

In the white of the matrix, the TARDIS avatar was sitting in the lotus position, quietly meditating and waiting. While she knew her personal past and future, details were nearly always murky. Major events made things clearer, but not always. The reappearance of the Hand of Omega had her on alert though, as it signified a rather _gigantic_ fixed point event on the horizon. Things lost would be found, and things found would be lost. While it would be horrible and something terrible for her pilots and loved ones, the gain was more than worth the cost.

One of the hardest things she had to do, was quiet her eleventh dimensional mind long enough for her to hear the call. So many things flew through her mind at any given time, even more so than for her beloved Doctor. All the same, she forced all of her awareness into simply listening to the infinite. She had to, for the one thing that she did know was that the call was going to be extremely faint.

Even knowing who and the approximate where, it still surprised her with the when. His voice sounded so far away and infinitely close all at once, and more than anguished. _'Help me!'_

At that silent call, she opened all of her senses. Pinpointing his location was relatively easy, but the pain she felt coming from him made her both sad and angry all at once. _'I'm coming,'_ she told him. All that was left, was to tell them. Easiest way to do that was to simply ring the bell.

* * *

While Rhys and Mickey slept off their rather riotous amount of inebriation, Martha had come out behind Jenny with a bone mender in hand. She found John sitting on the couch next to the TARDIS. Seeing him hold his slightly purple hand set her to clucking. "You know, boxing with a wall isn't all that smart."

Keeping his retort to himself, John simply hissed when she took his hand. He grinned slightly when Jenny sat next to him though. "Wasn't really thinking about that. Was looking for something that wouldn't break, and ended up breaking myself. _Ouch_."

"Sorry," Martha apologized. Whirring the device over each metacarpal and major knuckle, she had to know what got him in such a state. "Mind telling me what it was that made you want to redecorate yourself?"

A quick warning glance to Jenny, John murmured. "Rather wait till your done with this, first. Thank you by the way."

Looking up at him from under her brow, Martha pursed her lips. "You're welcome. Idiot," she grumbled.

"Oi!" John complained.

A few more moments and she was done. John flexed his hand and found that while it ached, it was tolerable. "Thanks, Martha." A small mental request, and Jenny scooted over on the couch to make room between them. "Have a seat," he told Martha.

Warily glancing at either of their pensive faces, she sat between them. Once she was down, Martha was completely startled by Jenny and John when they took a hold of each of her hands. "Okay. Unnerving me now. What is it?"

Both of them turned sideways a bit, and held her hands with both of theirs. John sighed, then went into it as gently as possible. "Whatever happens, I promise that you will _not_ have to walk the Earth for a year again."

Martha's worried expression morphed into surprised alarm. Her head tilted with wide eyes. "Oh please tell me it's not him," she quietly pleaded. John simply nodded, and Martha swore… _vividly_.

Hearing the F-Bomb come out of Martha got the Doctor and Rose's attention from Gwen's console. "Dammit John, I told you not to involve her! Martha's done enough!" the Doctor shouted, completely annoyed.

Standing up, Martha turned her glare to the Doctor. "If anything, I call dibs." Crossing her arms, she squared herself and set her foot tapping. Her stance brooked no argument. "When we going?"

Sighing, the Doctor stood from the chair. Feeling Rose rub his back with encouraging feelings, they walked over to Martha and he placed his hands on her shoulders. "You really don't have to do this."

"Of course I do," Martha said quietly. "That man has hurt me and mine just because he could. Both of my parents still wake up with nightmares from that year, my sister too. If I don't stand up for them, who will? If I don't, will Mickey get hurt too? You don't have to protect me any more Doctor. I can stand up for myself."

Pensive grin on his face, the Doctor pulled her into a hug. "Martha Jones, you still amaze me."

Looking over his shoulder, Martha saw Rose grinning at them with her arms crossed. She winked at the blond, then pulled back from the hug. "Remember what the Face of Boe said: You are not alone, Doctor."

"He'll get it eventually," John said while standing up and stretching his back out. "Till he does, we just have to brain him with rotten pears."

Scowling, the Doctor glared at his brother. "I hate pears," he grumbled.

A hand over her mouth to keep in her snickers, Rose went up behind her husband and hugged him. Sticking her chin on his shoulder, she whispered. "One of these days, you're going to try going on your own and we'll just have to tie you down while we do it ourselves."

Seeing how that made the Doctor grin, John was a bit disgusted. "Oi! No bedtime drama in front of the kids!" Jenny whacked his arm for the terrible joke. "Anyway, you find anything?"

Nodding, the Doctor went back to Gwen's computer. "Gather round. Looks like the Tarminster mansion has had a lot of money going in and out."

Jenny looked up at Jack's office rather suddenly. "Be right back," she said before hurrying over.

Confused, Martha spoke up. "Who's that?"

"Lucy Saxon's maiden name," John explained.

At a complete loss now, Martha looked at John. "Didn't she shoot him?"

"Apparently, that entire scenario was a ruse," the Doctor said quietly. "Should've known she was completely enthralled."

"Hold up," John said, standing up straight. Going over what that elder Ood said, John snapped his twin link with his brother wide open. _'He said that their bond was as strong as yours with Rose. Do I need to remind you what_ can't _possibly happen?'_

The Doctor looked up from the monitor and swung around to stare at John, completely gobsmacked. "That… _Rassilon_ ," the Doctor tripped over his gob. "Who?"

"No idea, but I'd bet a thousand quid it's someone we wont like," John said quietly.

Martha looked between the twins, then saw Rose covering her mouth and nose with both hands. "Okay, what is it?"

Looking over his shoulder to Jack's office, the Doctor stood up and began herding everyone towards the TARDIS. "Not here."

Confused, but taking the Doctor's lead, Martha went along quietly. Only after the four of them were in the console room with the doors closed, did she speak up. "All right, what the hell is it?"

Waving John to explain, the Doctor went over to the keyboard at the console while Rose brought the monitor around for him. Staring at them, Martha was surprised when she saw them both typing one handed, while holding their other hands together.

Turning to John, Martha was beyond alarmed. "This has to be _really_ bad."

"You have to swear to not say a word to either Jenny or Jack about this, especially Jack," John said quietly. Martha barely got out a confused 'but' before John put a finger to her lips. "Swear to me."

Blinking, Martha didn't know what to think. She trusted Jack with her life, just like she did with the Doctor. Even Rose and John held that distinction solely due to their relation to the Doctor. "I don't like keeping secrets from my friends, John. There better be a _damned_ good reason for it," she all but growled.

"Oh there's a very good reason for it, Martha," the Doctor said, glancing over. "It's not bad, per say, but him knowing about this will more than likely make things rather… _difficult_ for him. Telling Jenny would be just as bad, since the pair of them are bonded like Rose and I are."

Looking over at him, she was surprised that they were still typing together - Rose with her right hand; the Doctor with his left. They had gotten closer by wrapping their opposite arms around each other to the side while they worked. Brows up, she realized that the two of them were literally two halves of a whole person.

John waited patiently while Martha processed everything. When she looked back at him and nodded, he grinned. "Thank you. Remember how the Master married Lucy? Well, it wasn't just a human marriage."

Head whipping back over to the Doctor, Martha blurted, "You mean they're like you two?"

Rose looked up at her and nodded with a grim look on her face. "And that can't happen if one of them is human."

"But that means…" Martha's eyes grew large. "You said that Jenny and Jack…" She stumbled backwards to grab the railing. "Oh my God," she said quietly. "W-who…"

"We don't know," John said, getting her attention. "Lucy was a complete space cadet from everything I remember, which was a lot like Professor Yana was, but at the same time…"

"…Jack is a very focused individual," the Doctor finished the sentence. "Still though, he's got a bit more than what would be considered normal for a regular human persona. The TARDIS trusts him implicitly, so we do as well."

"We just don't know who he could be," Rose said quietly.

"My head is spinning," Martha quietly complained. "So, what about Lucy?"

The Doctor and Rose stopped typing and looked up at John. The three of them stared at each other for a split second. "We don't know," they said together.

"I do have a suspicion though," John said. "If I'm right, then the whole thing that the Ood said just gets infinitely more complex and dangerous."

"It can't be her though, can it?" the Doctor said. "She was there at the end, running through the distraction wave that gave me the time to…" he bit his lip and swallowed. Rose squeezed him a bit tighter in support.

"Pull the trigger, I know," John said quietly. "It's got to be her though. I cannot see anyone else from the Deca that would even get close."

"She doesn't have to be from the Deca," the Doctor complained. "It could be someone completely different, even,"

"Don't say it!" John interrupted. "I will not even entertain the idea of Romana being bonded to that madman! It has to be Ushas! No one else fits!" Blowing out a breath, he rested his hands on the edge of the console. "Remember, he was just as obsessed with her as he was with you."

"There is that," the Doctor conceded. "Still though, the thought of those two being bound…"

"I know," John said just as quietly. "Her brilliance with his madness is a completely horrifying concept. Tell you what, though. Let's go on the assumption that it's her for now. If it turns out to be Romana or someone else like her, we can think up ways to break the unbreakable."

"Guh," the Doctor shuddered. "I don't like thinking about that at all."

"Break what?" Martha asked, confused.

"You can't break a Gallifreyan marriage bond, Martha," Rose said. "Think of it like mixing blue and yellow paint together. Once you've got green, how do you split it back up?"

Blinking at that, Martha looked back at John and realized that she never had a chance with him or the Doctor. "Does that mean that River's a Time Lord?"

John's eyes bulged. "Holy shit, I didn't even _think_ of that!" Hugging her, John was smiling like crazy. "Martha Jones, you are a fucking _genius_!"

Rose and the Doctor winced and put their hands to their temples. The memory block that the TARDIS set up for Rose, and changed for the Doctor fell away. Hearing a shushing in their heads from the TARDIS, they looked at each other with huge grins on their faces.

"What is it?" John asked, letting go of Martha.

Looking at him, they said "Nothing!" in a sing song voice. "You're gonna love it though," the Doctor added with a wink.

Puzzled by that, John and the rest of them were completely distracted when the TARDIS cloister bell sounded. "You said that was bad," Martha whispered.

Looking back to the monitor, the Doctor swore brilliantly in Gallifreyan. Rose smacked his arm with a chastising "Rude again."

"What is it?" John asked, coming over to the monitor.

Stabbing the monitor with his left index finger, the Doctor shouted. "That's another bloody TARDIS!"

* * *

 

## *Chapter 7*: More Bad News

* * *

Coming into Jack's office, Jenny found him sitting back in his chair with his hands over his eyes. "What's the matter?"

Looking at her, he glanced at the monitor without saying anything. Coming around the desk, Jenny read what was on the screen. "Isn't that…"

"Yes," Jack said quietly. "I've got an alert set up for any of their names popping up in the police computer records. According to this, he was kidnapped this afternoon."

She grabbed his hand. "Come on. We need to tell dad." Pulling him out of his chair, she ran them down the stairs and into the TARDIS.

* * *

Meeting each other in the basement, the woman formally known as 'Addams' motioned for the man formally known as 'Rossiter' to follow her. Coming into the back room in the corner of the basement, she flipped something that looked like a light switch.

The Master's double jerked back when the floor opened to reveal a stair. "Never knew that was there."

"You weren't supposed to," the Rani's double stated. "Even her supposed parents didn't know about this."

Leading him down, the Rani's double hit an actual light switch at the bottom of the stair. Glancing at her, the Master's double commented, "I do hope there isn't a dinosaur down here."

Laughing at that, she looked at him and grinned. "Oh of course not, silly boy." Walking over to the far wall, she pressed her fingertips into three separate places. Part of the wall moved back three inches, then slid to the side.

Peering inside, the Master's double saw a reddish reflective pyramid. "Spectacular!" he shouted with a manic grin on his face.

"Don't get too excited," she chastised. "He can't fly."

"What?" he looked at her in alarm. "Why the hell not? That would solve everything!"

Staring at the Rani's TARDIS, she looked haunted. "The De-mat gun wasn't very forgiving. I still can't believe Rassilon renamed the blasted thing 'The _Moment_ '. Completely destroyed all of his Zeiton-7. Was lucky to land here at all. Honestly, it's a wonder he didn't explode."

Taking her hand, he brought her up short. "Hold on. _Rassilon_?"

Snorting petulantly, she glared at him. "Well, of course _you_ wouldn't know. You left before the council resurrected him."

"They did _what_?" he shouted. "Why in the cosmos did they do that?"

"Apparently, they were dissatisfied with President Romanadvoratrelundar's handling of the war," she explained as she keyed open the TARDIS. "Besides, they brought _you_ back, didn't they? Enough of that. Come with me. There should be something in here to let the two of them function."

"Dampeners?" he asked, following her into the grey and blackened console room. "Blimey. Seeing that reverse shadow on the wall, I can only assume that's what made her regenerate."

"Obvious, isn't it?" she grumbled. "Extremely painful too. Are you going to witter on all day?"

"Charming as ever," he sneered. "After you."

Pulling a small torch out of her pocket, she flicked it on and went into the darkened corridors. They walked in relative silence, their footfalls the only noise. The unnatural quiet of the TARDIS was unnerving to the both of them. Only pausing once, she led him into a storage room. "Here," she said, handing him another torch.

"What is it we're looking for?" he asked, flicking the torch on.

"You already said," she sighed. "Telepathic dampeners."

"The model, I meant," he groused.

"Oh," she said a bit sheepishly. "Black Market Marizipani Mark V's."

"Nasty," he commented.

Nodding, she had to agree. "True, but we should be able to dial them back enough to where they're coherent."

"Aha!" he crooned, holding up a strange looking headpiece. Tossing it to her, he pulled another one off the shelf.

"Excellent." Taking the wiry headpiece, she grinned. "Right. Now, let's get to the workshop to modify these."

* * *

A little over two hours later, the doubles went to their respective originals. While it took a bit to get them settled enough, once the headpieces were in place they seemed to focus. Some adjustments later, and the originals were coherent enough to function.

Storming into the room where the Master was, the Rani thundered, "This is Your Fault!"

"Stop blaming me for everything!" he countered, standing up. His double backed out of the way while they had at it. " _You_ didn't even believe it was real!"

"And now you infected _me_ with it!" she went up to him and slapped his face. "Bastard!"

Glaring at her, the Master slapped her just as hard. Huffing at each other for a few seconds, they came together in a gnashing snog.

Grunting his disgust, the Master's double left the room and ran into the Rani's double. "They're either going to kill each other, or shag each other to death."

"Same thing in the end," she answered, just as annoyed.

Just then their radios squawked. 'Mr. Tetramers?'

Pulling it off of his belt, the Master's double answered. "Yes?"

'We have him.'

"Good work. We'll be right there." Looking back into the room, he cleared his throat. "If you two are _quite_ done, your 'guest' has arrived, Master."

Chuckling, he broke their snog. "Good."

"What are you up to?" the Rani asked him.

Grinning evilly, the Master kissed her again. "Bait." Turning to the doubles, he ordered, "Shimmers on. You're going to love this."

* * *

Coming into the main sitting room at the ground level of the mansion, the Rani was confused when she saw two of her black suited guards flanking a somewhat rotund male sitting in a chair with a bag over his head. Looking over at her bondsmate, she raised her brow when she saw the grin on his face.

Shimmers on, 'Rossiter' and 'Addams' followed them into the room. He was grinning just as evilly as the Master, while she looked curious.

Stepping up to the captive, the Master flicked his finger up. The guard on the left grabbed the bag and pulled it off.

"Oi, it's _You_!" Wilfred Mott shouted up at the Master. Struggling with his hands tied behind his back, he was literally fit to be tied. "Bad enough you got me dreaming about you laughing your arse off. What the hell do you want? This is illegal! I'll have your guts for garters!"

Smiling at the implications of what he just said, the Master bent down to look him in the eye. "Just one thing, good sir." Pausing just enough to make the elderly fellow uncomfortable, he continued. "Just… _one_ thing: The Doctor."

Eyes darting to the right, Wilf lied through his teeth. "The Doctor? Doctor who? If it's Dr. Ambergris, you can have him. Bastard keeps telling me to swear off potted ham."

Leaning back, the Master laughed. "Oh I like you. Don't worry. I wont make you tell me where he is. All you need to do is sit there. He'll come to me." Looking to the man on the left, he asked, "Were there any problems?"

"No sir," he said, lifting his visor. "There was a rather loud ginger headed woman with him, but she was no problem."

Struggling to stand up, Wilfred shouted. "Your bastards hit my Donna, you swine!"

The Master's amused look changed to a scowling glare. "You _imbeciles_! She's the one who travels with him!" Pulling a black rod out of his pocket, he pointed it at the man. The bulb on the end of it split open four ways and let out a screech. The man screamed loudly and appeared to vanish.

Eyes wide, Wilf looked to his right and saw a miniature version of the man on the floor. "W-what did you do to him?" he whispered.

Holding up the device, the Master smiled as he wiggled it back and forth. "Basically, I compressed him to death. Now shush." Looking at the remaining guard, he smiled. "Make him somewhat comfortable, but somewhere out of sight. Also, don't fuck up or you'll end up like your friend there."

Saluting smartly, the guard hauled Wilf to his feet and marched him out of the room.

"Idiots," 'Rossiter' complained. "Honestly, how hard is it to snatch two people instead of one? Even if they didn't know who she is, the fact that they left a _witness_ …"

Rolling his neck, the Master agreed. " _Tell_ me about it. How long before the bolt's recharged?"

"Twelve hours," 'Addams' replied.

"Good," the Rani blurted. "More help than we ever thought about, and no worrying over idiotic mistakes." Looking to the Master, she had to congratulate him for his ingenuity. "Taking one of the Doctor's friends? I assume he's not a companion, or did he travel with him when he was younger? Can't see him tending a tottering fool."

"Grandpa of the current one," he said, waving his hand dismissively. "I _wrongly_ assumed that she was with him, instead of that mouthy git." Pausing, he tilted his head. "Could be where she gets it from though. I really wanted _her_."

Sliding an arm around him, the Rani quirked an eyebrow. "Should I be jealous?"

"Hardly," the Master snorted. "Seriously. _He's_ the one that likes messing with human girls."

Raising her hands, 'Addams' threw a guff of noise. "Ugh! Fuck and get it over with, will you?"

"Oh shut up!" the Rani shouted.

* * *

Martha and the others turned to look at the TARDIS doors as they burst inward. Seeing Jenny and Jack, they instantly stopped their current conversation. "What's the matter?" John asked.

Looking at the Doctor, Jack was pensive. "You're not going to like this. I just got a flagged alert from Cheswick. Wilfred Mott's been taken. Donna was the one that called the police."

The Doctor fell back into the jump seat, but it was John that was thundering. "Oh, _Hell_ No! No one messes with Gramps! No one!"

* * *

 

## *Chapter 8*: Discoveries and Rants

* * *

The Master's double, 'Rossiter' the former Vinvocci, was in the nuclear bolt room with his arms crossed. Studying the miniature reactor, he knew something was wrong. Whenever he tried to think of the reasons why, the answer eluded him. Frustrated over the ordeal, he snatched his radio off of his belt. "Addams, can you join me in the bolt room?"

His radio squawked static. 'Not my name, but what's wrong?'

Frowning, he held the radio to his mouth again. "Well, I need _you_ and not Ushas right now. This is actually rather important, so please refrain from our usual banter and come here."

Not three minutes later, 'Addams' the former Vinvocci came into the room. Seeing his expression of concern and worry, she was on alert. "What's is it?"

Not turning to look at her, he was rather quiet. "Something's wrong with this, and I _know_ I should know what it is. Tell me, do you have access to your body's previous memories?"

Thinking about that, 'Addams' tilted her head and frowned. "Interesting. I didn't even realize." She stepped up beside him. "No, and that shouldn't be."

"I agree," 'Rossiter' said. "I don't either, and that's a real problem." He pointed at the rectangular mess of wires and circuits that surrounded the fusion power source. "This shouldn't take twelve hours to recharge. I _know_ this and should be able to find out why, but the reason completely escapes me."

"Yours didn't do it," she whispered. "Mine did." She put her hands on her hips and scowled. "Why didn't I realize that?" she said with a shout. Walking around to the back of the thing, she knelt and stared at the haphazard components. Tracing the flow of power backwards, she looked up at him. "Bring the tools. These ruddy cacti put in a capacitance dampener."

* * *

Pacing in one of the mansion's many bedrooms, Wilf was a mess of emotions. After he'd been cut loose and shoved into this rather large bedroom, he did try the windows. Being on the third floor stopped him from trying to crawl out, though. One, he was too old for that sort of thing any more; and two, there wasn't any kind of ledge that he could attempt to crawl out on.

After a while, he came to a stop on the carpet and smacked himself on the head. "Now I know I'm getting old," he muttered to himself. Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out his mobile phone then immediately frowned. No Signal blinked at him from the device, and he got to swearing. "Oh _sure_! The one time I really need you and your off in your own bloody little world! Confounded contraption."

Stuffing the mobile back into his jacket, Wilf looked over to the bedside tables on either side of the four poster bed. Not immediately seeing a telephone, he looked to the bottom of the walls. While there were several electrical outlets that looked to be from the forties, it took a while to locate a phone jack. It was behind one of the bedside tables, _without_ a cord in it. "God Damned, Bastard Fucking, Uphill _Gardner_! Him _and_ that scrubber of his!"

There was a beating on the door, and the guard shouted, "Shut up in there, you old codger!"

"Fuck right off out of it, you arse!" Wilf shouted back at him. "Bloody twat!"

Sitting on the bed, Wilf ran a hand through his hair. "You're safe though, my girl," he said quietly. "Who is that fuzzy blond tit, anyway? Reminds me of someone."

Wilf's eyes opened wide as he realized, and his brow furrowed. "No... No way. Harold Bloody _Saxon_? Aint he s'posed to be dead?"

* * *

Donna was sitting on the couch in her mum and grandad's house. The police had brought her home not twenty minutes ago, and were getting an earful from her mum. Bent over her knees, she had her hands in her hair and was bawling.

"You find my dad _right now_!" Sylvia shrieked.

The plain clothes detective inspector was patient through her tirade, but his partner gave up ten minutes ago and stepped outside to rest her ears. When Sylvia finally stopped long enough to take a breath, he was able to talk. "Mrs. Noble, we are doing _everything_ we can right now. There was ample footage from the CCTV, and all officers have been notified about the vehicle in question. Now I need you to remain calm. Is there anyone you can think of that would want to hurt your father?"

"What?" Sylvia baulked with a glare. " _No_! He runs around with his old army friends, and they're thick as thieves! Dad's the nicest, most gentle man I've ever known. He wouldn't harm a fly!" She started slapping his chest as tears started dribbling down her cheeks. "You get out there and find my dad!"

Catching her hands, the detective inspector was nearly at his limit. "Mrs. Noble!"

The front door opened, and the man's partner came in with Shawn right behind him. Shawn saw what was happening, and came around to catch Sylvia from behind. "Sylvia... _Sylvia_! This's not helping!" She came undone at that point, and spun around to hug him, crying.

* * *

In the TARDIS, John had just exploded and was running around the console – flipping all sorts of controls. Rose and the Doctor caught him on his second pass, restraining him.

"LEMME GO!" John screamed, trying to throw them off.

Jack jumped in to help when he saw what was happening. They held him tightly: Rose on his left; the Doctor on his right; and Jack behind him; talking over each other as they tried to calm him down. The Doctor was the loudest. "John, Stop It! This is _exactly_ what he wants!"

"I DON'T CARE!" he shouted so loud that the floor seemed to vibrate. " _NO ONE_ FUCKS WITH HIM!"

"John, _please_ … we'll get him back, I promise," Rose said, fighting with his left arm.

"C'mon, buddy. You know we'll do everything we can…" Jack started to say.

John interrupted him, "You don't _understand_!" he said with more than a bit of a panicked whine. "I was _warned_ about this! Gramps is in _real_ danger! Let. Me. _Go_! _Please_ …" he begged. His face cracked and his breath hiccuped.

In front of him now, Jenny put her hands on either side of his face. "We've got time, Uncle John. I know it."

Sagging between them all, John's nutter was nearly spent as it changed to tears. Jack and the Doctor let go as Rose and Jenny pulled him between them for a lot of hugs.

Coming around, the Doctor put his hand on John's cheek to get his attention. "Who warned you," he gently asked. "What was it about?"

_I did, Beloveds,_ the TARDIS said quietly in their minds. _That time is almost upon us, and My John was correct about the danger. However, please be cautious._

Turning to look up at the Rotor, the Doctor asked, "Whose TARDIS is on the scanner? Is it the Master's?"

_I do not sense her, Beloved. This one is male. He is so weak that I cannot be certain. There is a barrier field around him that I am unable to penetrate with my scanners._

"Shouldn't you recognize his voice?" Jack asked, confused.

_Like I said, he is very weak and in pain. To describe it to you accurately, it would be similar to listening to a very faint whisper for you. While I cannot identify his model or coding however, it was enough for me to triangulate his location._

"Oh, let me guess," Rose said with a sigh. "The Tarminster mansion?"

_Yes, My Rose. I should have been able to feel/hear him before._

"Don't worry about that," the Doctor said, giving the console a soft pat. "I didn't know about the Master either. He must be using a smaller version of the Archangel Network," he mused.

Rubbing the girls' shoulders to get them to let up on the hug, John looked at his brother. "I can't think. Do you have a plan?"

Scrubbing his hands over his scalp, the Doctor blew out a breath. "Well, for one thing, that reason alone means you're staying in here." He held up a hand to stop the coming onslaught. " _No_ John. You're so close to this, that it's making you act without thinking."

Sighing heavily, John sat in the jump seat with a somewhat quiet, "Fuck. You're right. Sorry."

The Doctor was about to go on, when his head snapped to his wife. "Rose, no."

"Don't want to hear about it," Rose said with a wave of her hand in his face. "I know what you're thinking, but Jenny can't shield her mind properly just yet." She turned to her daughter. "Sorry love, but if you step outside – behind whatever barrier he set up – he'll _know_ you're there."

"You're _pregnant_ though, Rosie," Jack protested. "You gotta remember that you're working for two now. I can…"

"You're not getting anywhere _near_ this, Jack!" Rose snapped at them. "I am barely along and don't even have a belly yet, and I'm not _about_ to let him go _anywhere_ by himself!" She turned and stuck a finger in the Doctor's face. "No! You are _never_ leaving me behind again, mister! Where you go, I go! End of the bloody discussion!"

Blinking at his wife, the Doctor did something extremely unusual: He acquiesced. Looking to Jack and the others, his jaw was tight. "You four are _only_ to run in if we call for you. Jack, get Ianto in here. For some reason, my instincts are yelling at me that we all need to be together."

After Jack ran out of the TARDIS, the Doctor hugged his brother. "We're going to land out of sync, so he wont find the ship. Right?" Feeling a tap on his shoulder, he looked to his daughter. "Hmm?"

"Would probably be a good idea if you left the brake off then." Jenny said. "If we're going in stealth mode, then there's no need to announce our presence, is there?"

Pulling out of the hug, the Doctor and John both were stuttering with their mouths open. Rose snickered at the two of them, and poked them both in the ribs. "Right pair of arrogance, aint ya? Goin' 'bout screaming 'Here I am!' to the universe, and all." When they spun their heads around to give her matching scowls, her snickers switched to outright giggling and Jenny and Martha joined right in.

The TARDIS doors opened and Jack led a somewhat annoyed Ianto into the ship. "I don't see why you need me on this one, sir," he was complaining. "There's more than enough people. Shouldn't we leave at least _one_ person in the hub to monitor things?"

Thankful for the distraction, the Doctor looked over when Jack shut the door. "Ianto, I'm the one that needs you," he lied. "Have you been catching on to what we were talking about out there?"

"Yes, Doctor," he said, fully aware now of how he hated being called 'sir'. "I looked up the Master in the Torchwood database. Sounds like a right bastard."

"Oh he's more than that," John groused from the jump seat.

Nodding, the Doctor went on. "Yes. When you think of him, think of me as if I were a hostile alien."

Tilting his head with a smirk at what he thought was a joke, Ianto blanched when no one else was smiling. Blinking, he leaned on the railing and crossed his arms, completely uncomfortable now. "Right. Not a very nice thought, that."

Looking to her daughter, Rose spoke up. "Swee'hear', take Ianto to the infirmary and get that anti-alcohol stuff, I've a feeling that even if Gwen doesn't want Rhys involved, Mickey will."

"Hold on now!" Martha protested, finally saying something after being quiet for so long. "I don't want him anywhere _Near_ that nutter!"

"Martha," the Doctor said quietly. "Remember how I tried to not let Rose in on this, and how _successful_ I was over it? If we don't wake him up, he's going to tear us a new one."

Crossing her arms, Martha sighed. "Yeah, okay. I'm not giving him that shot though. I've seen him in the loo when he's had too much. Not pretty. Not to mention he'll be blaming me for weeks, after."

Grinning, Jenny patted her shoulder. "S'okay, Martha. We can handle it." Turning to Ianto, she grabbed his hand. "C'mon, let's get to it." Even though he stiffened from her taking his hand, Ianto allowed himself to be led out of the console room in a bit of a trot.

* * *

 

## *Chapter 9*: It All Goes to Pot

* * *

Coming to awareness, Mickey found himself in a loo, with said thing in his face. Completely confused, he couldn't say anything as he started violently retching. He could feel two people holding on to him, and he assumed one of them was Martha until he heard Jenny speak. "That's it. There you go sweetheart. Let it all out. We need you."

"Terrible, isn't it?" he heard Ianto say on his left. Honestly, terrible didn't quite describe it. He was heaving so hard that he could taste bile.

Forcing inhales through this sort of ordeal is a lesson in timing. Get it wrong, and your lungs would start to burn from lack of oxygen. Panting after most of his stomach was gone, he wheezed out, "Ohhh, my _Go-o-o-o-d._ " Just when he thought he was done, more of the foul stuff came up.

Coughing and shaking a bit, he felt a cool flannel going over his forehead and the back of his neck at the same time. "What the bloody hell's goin' on?" he rasped.

"Got some of that horrid alcohol cleansing drug in you," Ianto said, smirking. "Not that nice, is it?"

Groaning, Mickey apologized. "Never… _ever_ … gonna poke you 'bout tha' _again_."

"Feeling a bit better?" Jenny asked, concerned.

He shook his head. "Gimme a bit, yeah?"

* * *

"Got it!" 'Rossiter' shouted as the nuclear bolt whirred up. Standing with 'Addams', they wiped their hands with some rags and grinned at each other. Grabbing his radio and switching it to the private channel, he spoke with a rather noticeable amount of smugness. "Master, screw the twelve hours bit. Give us exactly thirty minutes and we can get this party started!"

The radio sparked some static. 'Spectacular!' they heard the Master shout through it. 'Make sure the cage is ready. We don't want to deprive a proper rescue attempt, do we?'

Smirking, 'Addams' keyed her radio. "It's been ready for hours. I'll take care of it." Switching channels, she barked into it. "Mathis! Get that old fool down to the basement. Got a bit of a surprise for him."

The answer popped back, 'Yes mum.'

* * *

The Doctor and Rose were walking around the console making adjustments, while Martha and Jack sat on the jump seat on either side of John in an attempt to comfort the man. His head popped up though, when he had an idea. Hopping off the seat, John went to the telepathic control panel and slapped his palm on it.

Watching him, Rose was confused. "What're you up to?"

Grinning, John looked to his brother. "Something a bit better than circuit chips on a key."

Eyebrows up, the Doctor smiled when two necklaces appeared on the small panel above the palm interface. "Ohhh, did I ever tell you just how brilliant you are?"

Snorting, Jack crossed his arms. "What is this, the Narcissists Convention?"

Shaking his head, the Doctor took one of the necklaces while Rose nabbed the other one. Holding it up, he grinned at the small, silvery oval disk on the chain. "Jack, this is what I made you and Martha the last time we put up with that idiot. It's just a bit more compact and durable."

Popping off the seat, Jack and Martha went to opposite sides of the console to look at them. "Oh, that's way better than that thing you did, Doctor," Martha said. "Nice job, John. But, how'd you make them so fast?"

"Let the TARDIS know what I wanted, and she made them for me," John said with a grin. "Thought it'd be a bit better if whatever guards he's got didn't know they were there."

Grinning his face off, the Doctor grabbed the back of John's head and planted a kiss on his forehead. "I feel a hell of a lot better about this now, John. Thank you."

"Oi, let me at 'im," Rose said, turning him around. Grinning cheekily, Rose planted her own kiss on him. Lips this time, but it was chaste in comparison to the ones she usually gave her husband. "Hmm," she paused, licking her lips. "You taste different than he does." She frowned at her husband. "And _you_ said he was just the same. Did you think I wouldn't notice the difference?"

Stammering, the Doctor grabbed the back of his neck with an actual flushing on his ears. "I, uhm... yeah. Well, I was off my trolley at the time, to be perfectly honest."

Jack knuckle punched the Doctor's shoulder. "If you'd gotten away with it, I'd've done my best to introduce you to your next face. Ass."

"Ow!" the Doctor complained. "Yes! I know! I was totally _bonkers_ at the time!" he complained. Moving around Jack and John with a 'Mine', he lifted Rose up in a hug, planting his lips on hers for a rather lengthy snog.

Breaking the kiss, he raised his eyebrow at her. "Forgive me?"

"Did a long time ago, husband of mine," Rose said with a grin. " _They_ just didn't," she winked. When he let her down and turned, she smacked his arse. "Do it again though, and you'll be _sorry_."

"Right then!" the Doctor said with a bit of a shout. "Before I get _completely_ distracted, let's get going shall we?" He got snickers from everyone for his trouble. "Oh, shut it," he muttered.

* * *

Sitting down next to Donna, Shawn placed a makeshift ice pack on the back of her head. "How you doing, love?"

"How'm I _doing_?" Donna said, glaring up and over at him. "How'm I doing? How do you _think_ I'm doing? My Gramps has been taken by a couple o' thugs, you twonk!"

Cringing at the loud words, Shawn mumbled, "Sorry. Actually meant your head. Got a bit of a knock, there."

Wincing, Donna looked away. "No, _I'm_ sorry. I'm a frazzled mess. Thanks for the ice."

Coming out of the kitchen with a tea tray, Sylvia went over to them and set it on the small table next to the couch. "Don't apologize, sweetheart. We're _both_ in a state. Made some tea. Nothing fancy, I'm afraid." Sitting in the chair next to the couch, she fiddled with the pot and cups. Looking over to the lady partner that the detective inspector left behind, she spoke up. "Want some tea, dear?"

* * *

Behind the Tarminster mansion, a brief breeze started up and died away. There was a soft creak, and the Doctor appeared out of nowhere. Rose was right behind him, holding his hand. Her left hand appeared with the sound of the TARDIS door closing with a click.

Shielding their minds completely, they depended solely on their bond to communicate. With it, they never really needed to think anything when it was opened wide. They simply _knew_ what the other was either seeing, hearing, or thinking.

While the Doctor was searching for a way inside, Rose was watching for the guards. She was slightly surprised when she noticed how few there were, though. However, when he had the idea, she looked to the outside fence and saw the patrols. There was something to be said for popping in behind the lines.

Seeing a door open, they paused long enough for a guard to go outside, then hopped through the door before it closed. With their minds locked up and together like they were, they both tilted their heads to listen for something obvious to give them a bit of direction.

Splitting up when they didn't hear anything worthwhile, they went in opposite directions. Rose went upstairs while the Doctor went down. The thought of the filters they were wearing being unable to work against other Time Lords went through them, and they started being even more sneaky.

Ducking into a bedroom, Rose instantly smelled a rather cheap brand of aftershave. There wasn't much of it, so it had to have been something that was worn for a while. There was a fair amount of sweat and the hint of adrenaline as well. Oddly enough, that reminded her of what Blon said when she'd been hiding in Ten Downing Street: 'The stink of fear'. She, along with the Doctor, came to the conclusion that she was in the room that Wilfred had been locked up in.

Downstairs, the Doctor found himself in a rather strange version of a company office. Six cubicles, three on either side, with a rather elaborate wooden desk at the end he came in on. Rose thought it was funny that Corporate Britain invaded, and the Doctor smirked at that.

Hearing a door open on the far side of the basement, he ducked into one of the empty cubicles. He heard the Master talking to whomever Lucy was, and felt Rose cringe. Telling her to keep quiet and hid away – _with the prompting to come get him if things went pear shaped_ – the Doctor stepped into the open.

There was the sound of some banging, and he watched them turn their heads. "Oh shut it, old man. Just be glad you're in there. You don't want to be outside when this goes off," the Master said while sweeping his arm towards a rather strange looking metal framework.

Hands in his pockets, the Doctor prepared himself for the coming confrontation. However, he was completely stunned when the Master and Lucy walked right past him. Looking down to his perception filter, the thought of it actually working on a Time Lord died when he heard the Master through Rose's ears. Looking to the door, he saw that the Master he was staring at the back of was muttering something completely different.

Leaning her head against the small gap between the door and the frame, Rose eavesdropped. Only recognizing them through her husband, she could tell it was the Master and that Lucy person… whomever she was. She felt out the pockets of her blue bomber for her sonic, just in case.

"Oh, would you hurry up?" the Master complained. "Blimey Ushas, this version of yourself is too distracted."

Sighing, the Rani turned to look at him. Grinning wickedly, she walked over and wrapped her arms around him. "Yes, but you should know I'm doing this to look good for you. I may not have had much choice in the matter, but I have to say I like the results." Minding their headgear, she pulled him in for a snog. "Makes sex so much more… " she sighed wistfully when they broke the kiss, "fulfilling. Don't you think?"

Feeling the sense of alarm from her husband from what she heard, Rose glanced at the floor and tiptoed away from the door to the side of it, where she would be behind it if it opened. Switching to her bypass made it really simple to hold her breath, and she grinned at the thought of how much easier things were this way. A sense of relief came from her husband, and she smiled wider when she knew he found Wilf.

Looking over the strange glass case that Wilf was standing in, the Doctor glanced over his shoulder and saw a double version of it on the opposite wall. The one on the left had a technician inside it. Controls for some sort of power source were in both of those cases.

Turning back to the one Wilf was in, he leaned close and lightly licked the glass. Smacking his lips, he came to the conclusion that it was Vocci or Vinvocci in origin. Turning to the contraption that was in between the two glass cases next to the wall, he realized that it had something to do with radiation.

Trotting over to the double version, he watched the technician adjust things on the controls. His eyes widened when he saw the power levels, along with the radiation warning. Feeling Rose's alarm over that, he quelled it by showing her that the cases were radiation proof.

Turning his head to the door that he came in, he saw the Master and the _Rani_ tapping their feet with some impatience. Seeing that they were wearing the same white lab coats as the technician was completely confusing. Hearing the Master's voice without seeing his lips move, the Doctor ducked behind the double case and crouched.

The Master was annoyed when he saw the duplicates. "Shimmer, you twits," he hissed. "You can turn them off after this is over."

Watching from his hiding place, the Doctor's eyes widened when he saw the ones in lab coats touch their watches – shimmering into different people. _Alien tech,_ he thought. Glancing to the strange looking frame, he kicked himself for not giving it the once over.

"Not long now," the Rani said, "but double check the readings."

The Doctor watched the four of them go to one of the cubicles, and the one that had looked like the Master bent over to type.

"Ninety eight percent," 'Rossiter' said. "About five minutes, give or take."

Crossing her arms in a huff, the Rani started bitching. "Where's the Doctor? You said he'd be here. I thought that old fool was supposed to be bait."

Taking off his perception filter, the Doctor winked at the technician as he pocketed it. Stepping out, he thrust his hands in his pockets and smiled at Wilf's startled expression. "Oh I'm here, Ushas. _Completely_ surprised you are though. I'd be thrilled a bit more if you weren't hanging out with loony there, though."

"Doctor!" the Master shouted. "So _glad_ you could join us!" he beamed. "Told you," he nudged the Rani with his elbow.

"What's with the matching wire hats there?" the Doctor asked, walking nonchalantly towards them. "Looks quite retro, _although_ they do remind me of Davros's. Those part of the former Archangel Network, or have you two gone disco? Love the beard, by the way. Thought that was supposed to be Lucy. Not sure about the blond though. Doesn't really suit you, Koschei."

"Well, if you must know, he wasn't lying about that infernal drumming," the proper Rani snapped. "These make it to where it's not that noticeable."

Frowning now, he looked to the Master. "It's _real_?"

Smirking, the Master nodded. "And you all thought I was crazy!" he shouted.

Shaking himself, the Doctor had to ask. "Can I take Wilf home now, or is there some reason you two want me here?"

"You want to leave?" 'Rossiter' asked with a mad looking grin. "Oh come now Doctor, you should know better than that."

"Oh yes," the Master agreed. "Please stay. I've gone to a lot of trouble to get you to watch this." Turning his head, he shouted, "Guards!"

Six of the black suited and helmet wearing guards came into the room. Cocking their rifles, they levelled them at the Doctor.

The Doctor held his hands up with a sigh, and quelled Rose's fear over it with a hint of patience going through their bond. "Oh, all right. I'll bite. What is it this time, eh? Going to try to take over the universe again? Must be tiresome, coming up with all sorts of new plans. I'd get sick of it after a while."

Cackling madly, the Master walked up to the side of him. "Ohhh, you're gonna _love_ this," he said rather darkly. "Come, my dear. The Gate awaits. Ooh, that rhymed. Aren't I witty?" Holding out his hand, the Rani took it with a roll of her eyes and walked with him towards the odd looking machine at the wall. "Power to maximum!" he shouted at the woman in the booth.

Taking a remote out of her pocket, the Rani pointed it at the glass cage Wilf was in and pressed a button. A green sheen flit over the glass once, causing him to look around. Whatever he was saying was completely muted.

"Let me out of here, you bleeding tit!" Wilf futilely shouted. Looking to the the Doctor, he quieted when he saw him shaking his head.

"What are you up to?" the Doctor asked. "I don't recognize that thing at all."

They laughed at him. "Ohhh, _brilliant_. He hasn't the faintest clue!" the Master said with a huge smile on his face.

"Doctor," the Rani held her hand up to the gate when they stepped under it and turned around. "This lovely device was made by the Vinvocci for the Sontarans. Whenever they make a genetic breakthrough, these make it possible to upgrade entire clone worlds with a flick of a switch."

Eyes widening in horror, the Doctor shouted. "No! You _Can't_!" He stepped forward, only to be stopped by two of the guards who grabbed his arms. A third one kicked his knees out from behind, and he fell into a kneeling position on the floor. "STOP!"

"Hmmm," the Rani said, looking to the Master. "What do you think?"

Grinning at that, he looked at the Doctor. "In a word… _No_. Hit it!"

Laughing behind the main desk, 'Addams' keyed in the final sequence and hit enter.

There was a blue flash, and an arc of energy leapt out of the gate. The Doctor squinted at that, and wasn't all that surprised when the guards let him go. Looking up at them, he saw them all vibrating wildly and stood up, backing away. Turning towards the Gate, he saw that Koschei and Ushas were doing the same wild vibration.

* * *

Donna came out of the loo and stopped dead when she saw Shawn, her mother, and the detective inspector all doing some form of vibrating chicken dance. "Mum? Shawn? What's wrong?"

She ran to the window and saw one of the neighbours doing the same thing. "The hell's goin' on?" she whispered.

* * *

Inside the TARDIS, Mickey and Gwen had just entered the console room when the Cloister Bell sounded. Looking up from the jump seat, John said, "Ohhhh, shit." Standing, he went to the keyboard and tilted the monitor up.

Jenny watched John's eyes grow wide. "What is it?"

Running into the console room, Jack dodged Gwen and Mickey. "What's happening?"

Looking at his niece, John clapped his teeth shut before answering. "There's a propagation wave going across the planet. It originated in the basement of the mansion, but I have no idea what it's doing."

"Pull up the news or something else that's live," Mickey said, coming up behind him.

It got quite crowded around John. "Brilliant, Mick." Keying in a few commands, the monitor split four ways with different channels. AMNN from America, the BBC, AUNN from Australia, and the official Chinese Political News Network were showing commentators and news personnel all vibrating wildly in a blur.

"What the hell is that?" Gwen asked.

"I have no idea," John said, completely alarmed.

* * *

Rani and the Master stopped vibrating and started laughing like crazy. The Doctor ignored them for the moment and stared at the guards.

One by one, the guards lifted their visors – revealing four Masters and two Rani's. "Surprise," the Masters said.

Turning to the technician in the double booth, the Doctor saw another Rani waving back at him. He heard a rather muffled, 'Hi there!' from her. Spinning to the proper Master and Rani, he was shouting. "What the _Rassilon_ have you two done?"

"Ohhh, not all that much," the Rani said with a smirk.

"Just implanted ourselves in every human on the planet," the Master said rather smugly.

'Rossiter' and 'Addams' turned off their shimmers, grinning maniacally. "Told you he'd love it," 'Rossiter' said.

* * *

Watching the monitor in the TARDIS, everyone gasped when the news people all stopped vibrating. "Oh my God!" Gwen shouted.

"No bloody way," John whispered.

Jack asked, "All of them?"

Holding her hands over her mouth, Martha went over to Mickey – who instantly wrapped her up in a hug. "No, no, no, no, no..." she was murmuring in a panic. John turned and looked at Martha with a wince. "Gwen, you and Mick go get her some tea. We'll call when we need you. Promise."

"You better," Mickey said.

Gwen simply nodded and got on the other side of Martha, leading the two of them out.

* * *

Donna snapped her head around when she heard laughing in the living room. Peeking around the door, she was shocked when she saw strangers wearing her mum and fiancée's clothes. Flicking her eyes to the right, she saw that the lady detective inspector looked the same as whomever was wearing her mother's clothes.

Hand over her mouth, she quietly backed into the kitchen. Snatching her mobile from the counter, she opened the back door and slipped outside.

* * *

Cackling like mad, the Master pointed at the Doctor. "Tie him up and stuff him in the main sitting room." Looking to Wilfred behind the glass, he grinned. "Him too."

Pointing the remote at the cage, the Rani turned off the shielding and opened the door. "Come along now, make no trouble and you wont be hurt."

"Oh stop lying to him," the proper Master said with a chuckle.

Snatched up by the guards, Wilfred was shouting. "What have you done, Saxon?"

"Not now Wilf," the Doctor said. "You all right?"

"Yeah," Wilf nodded as they were pushed along. "They hurt Donna though, when they nabbed me off the street."

Upstairs, Rose saw and heard everything her husband did and forced herself to remain calm. Hearing a single set of footsteps outside the door, she could hear the jingling clatter of a rifle and smelled a faint wisp of some rather cheap perfume.

Stepping to the hinge side of the door, Rose adjusted her throat and called to the guard with the Rani's voice. "Hey! Can you come in here? I seem to be in a bit of a state."

The door opened and Rose grinned when she heard the same voice call back to her. "What's the matter? You fall over with the change?"

Coming out from behind the door, Rose hit the back of the guard's neck with the blade of her right hand. When she fell to the floor unconscious, Rose murmured, "Something like that," and closed the door.

Seeing Wilf struggle across from him, the Doctor calmly said, "It's okay Wilfred. Let them at it." Smiling pensively, he nodded to the elderly gentleman as they were tied rather securely to a pair of chairs.

Watching a guard wrap a gag over the Doctor's mouth, Wilf was pissed off. "Oi! Leave him alone, you bent ponce!"

One of the Rani guards leaned over and whispered in Wilf's ear. "Keep it up old man, and we'll gag you too," she said.

Glaring at her, he kept his mouth shut. Wilf got a 'Good boy' and a pat on the head for his trouble. After they were both secured to the chairs, the guards left the room. "You all right, Doctor?" he whispered. The Doctor could only nod back at him. "Got a plan?" This time he got a wink. "Oh, thank goodness."

They were there for a bit of a while before the door opened. The Master strode over with a huge grin on his newly shaven face. One of the guards stepped in after him and closed the door. "So much better. Not sure why, but I really don't like beards this time around." The Master said. He went over and gave Wilfred a rather absurd top down hug from the back. "How you doing, Grandpa?"

"Be a bit better if you'd let me hit the loo, you prat," Wilf murmured.

"Oh hold it in," the Master groused. "You should be wearing one of those elderly nappies anyway, though."

Wilf tilted his head rather hard, smacking the Master in the side of the face with his skull. "Not that old, you flippin' tit!"

Frowning, the Master stood up and cuffed the back of Wilf's head. "Oh, you're a feisty one. Pipe down, will you?" Taking a few steps toward the Doctor, the Master abruptly stopped with wide eyes when the sound of a mobile chirping came from behind him. "What?"

"Sorry," Wilf said. "Prob'ly Lewis. Just let it go to that voice mail thingy."

Turning around, the Master glared at him. "You don't understand, old man. Every one on the planet is either Ushas or _me_! _We're_ not calling you, so who the hell is that?" Stepping forward, the Master rummaged into the inside of Wilf's jacket and pulled out the mobile. His eyes went wide when he read the name. "Donna? Why is she calling you? _How_ is she calling you?"

"I don't know," Wilf said. "The Doctor said something about a metacrisis…" he closed his mouth when he saw the Doctor shake his head at him.

Turning around, the Master was livid. "Ohhh, you always _did_ like Earth girls, you perv." Hitting the speaker-phone, he held it close to Wilfred's ear.

"Donna?" Wilf said.

'GRAMPS! Are you okay?'

"Oh I'm fine, my girl," he said. "You all right?"

Donna could be heard panting on the line. 'There's these people! All the men look alike! All the _women_ look alike! Oh, my head. I keep seeing these _things_ in my head.' There was a pause. 'Why am I seeing a giant _wasp_?'

Wilf was beside himself. "Don't worry about that, sweetheart. Just run, get away! Run, girl, Run!"

* * *

 

## *Chapter 10*: Hello, Sweetie

* * *

Donna was frantic. Gramps was telling her to run, but run where? This bloke and bird were bloody _everywhere_! Their faces, so familiar it burned! Oh, how they burned! She was babbling now, going on about how hot her head, her brain, or _something_ was getting.

The ones that noticed her kept coming closer and were either grinning that same maniacal grin, or glaring at her; cornering her in the alley. Images of insane things were going through her mind, and suddenly she saw the face that was in her dreams every night in her mind's eye, forgotten. Now, like a sudden thunderclap in her brain she could see him plainly. "Doctor!" she yelled.

Her arms flung themselves wide as she looked up with a high pitched shriek. A micro-burst of golden energy belted out of her, knocking every Master and Rani copy for a half-mile radius unconscious.

The explosion rocked her to the core. Moreover, as she stumbled in confusion, she noticed her hands oddly glowing and trailing golden light, like smoke. She blinked her eyes a few times, and just squinted at them as they glowed brighter and brighter. "But what did I?" Looking up, she realized. "Oh, I'm gonna bloody _kill him_!" she shouted with a growl to her voice.

She screamed loudly as her back arched painfully backwards again. The energy expanded until her face and hands were completely obscured. Her piercing wail echoed and became lower in pitch; hair curled and grew darker; she was shrinking in some places while growing in others; all the while, her mind expanded exponentially. The past... The future... All that was... All that could be... _IT BURNED!_

Donna barely registered the uncomfortable feeling of her bra slipping and pinching while her leggings and knickers drooped, and didn't even notice her feet sliding inside her pumps. The only thing she could focus on was that she was _on fire._

* * *

The Master looked at the Doctor with wide eyes when the mobile disconnected abruptly. The Doctor was grinning at him through his gag and winked. Wilf was shouting for Donna before he noticed the Doctor's expression.

* * *

The energy blew away and it was over. Quivering from the ungodly painful experience, Donna's mouth was open with shuddering breaths, completely stunned from the experience. All of the memories that the Doctor tried to bury were back at once. What surprised her the most was that it didn't hurt any more. Well, not in her head at least. Everything else was a _completely_ different issue.

She wiped the tears from her face and was distracted by her shaking hands. Panting huge gulps of air, she noticed her ring sliding around. _Why is it too big?_ Looking at that, she found that her acrylic nails were gone. Noticing her mobile, she dropped it when she saw that it was somewhat scorched. Wincing now, she grabbed at her hair like she used to do to get rid of a sinus headache, and was shocked to find that her hair was permed?

_No... That's not right._ She couldn't feel or smell the slight twang of chemicals. It was _naturally_ curly? Pulling a lock down in front of her eyes, she saw that it was a deep chocolatey brown now. Curly and not ginger, she didn't like that one damned bit. She _loved_ her hair! _What the hell happened to my hair?_

Stumbling over to a small car, Donna looked into the glass window of the door and gasped loudly. "Doctor, what have you done to me?" She grabbed her mouth and throat at the new voice, and gaped at the face that broke the Doctor's hearts at The Library... _staring back at her_.

"Oh. My. _God_!" She rasped, "River?" she distressingly asked her reflection, horrified. Tears welled up again and she felt her heart hammering oddly. Clutching at her chest with both hands, she felt the twin thumping of hearts and a smile slowly spread across her face in realization. "Ohhh _B-r-i-l-l-i-a-n-t_."

* * *

Jack looked around the time rotor to see John and Jenny staring at each other. John was pulling at his hair in complete dumbfounded shock, while Jenny had huge knowing smirk on her face. "What's the matter?" he asked them.

John's open mouth slowly changed to a beaming smile when he turned to Jack. "Of _course_! I'm a total _DUNCE_! It's complete!" he shouted and pulled Jenny into a bear hug, bouncing on his toes. "Oh my _God_! The Pattern's _Complete_! She's Donna! She Was Always _Donna_!" He shrieked, before running around the console to crush Jack in a hug of his own. He ended up laughing and sobbing like a maniac.

Jack accepted the hug with a perplexed grin, completely lost. Grunting through the _unbelievably_ tight hug John was giving him, he asked the obvious. " _Who_ 's Donna?" he managed to get out.

John let go only to firmly plant a kiss on Jack's lips, stunning the man. "RIVER!" he shouted. "Donna Bloody Noble _is_ River Bleeding Song!"

Jack's mouth hung open. "You're kidding!"

"BRILLIANT!" John shrieked.

Jenny simply could not hold it in any more, and started laughing her arse off. The look on her uncle's face was a near match of when her mother blurted out Donna's name back when they rescued her from The Library.

* * *

_'Who are you?'_ a voice ripped through Donna's skull, making her cringe. That voice... that _face_ on almost every person. _The Master,_ she realized. _Oh, that's bad, very bad. Ohhh, yes._

_'_ What _are you?'_ a female voice countered the question, making Donna frown. _That's Lucy, isn't it? No! It can't be! Ushas? Ohhh, this just got ten times worse!_

She felt both of the Doctors and… _It Can't Be! Jenny?_ Feeling Jenny's mind filled her with ungodly amounts triumphant courage, and she could not help the wild beam that spread over her face.

Something that had to be mental screens came around her mind, and one of the Doctors shouted in her head. _'I found you! Oh My God, It's You! BOUT. BLOODY. TIME. WOMAN!'_ It had to be the new Doctor, because the old one was _never_ like that. _That almost felt... lustful?_

Standing upright with a hand on the bonnet of the car, she smiled at the sky and flexed her neck back and forth. "Someone's feeling naughty," she chuckled, marvelling at her voice. _'I'm River Song,'_ she said both aloud and in her head, broadcasting for all to hear, _'and Your Worst Nightmare, Koschei. Analyse that one, Ushas.'_ She heard the Doctor – the one that sat up in front of her, buck naked, all that time ago - shout a resounding _'Hah!'_ at that proclamation.

Her smile grew wider when she felt him caress her mind from a distance. Setting up a matching mental screen of her own, she thought back. _'What's all this rubbish you're sending me?'_ she giggled, completely amused and somewhat turned on all at the same time. _'Oh yes. You're going to get thoroughly snogged when I see you. Don't you worry, this body has all_ sorts _of wonderful ideas.'_ She blanched. _Oh god, did I really just say that?_ _Personality traits? Oh, that's right._ Donna grinned sheepishly as she realized that she _liked_ this new one that bubbled out.

Taking a step forward, Donna looked down at her chest and legs, frowning. "Oh my, that's _one_ way to diet." Putting an arm over her chest, she kicked her loose pumps off, bent to grab her leggings up, and then made a beeline for Nerys' flat around the corner. _Would it disappear? No, that's silly. The_ bees _disappeared. Well, not disappear so much as went home. And what's with this brain going off on tangents? Ugh._ _Anyway, fighting's one thing, but holding your girls in check is something_ completely _different altogether._ "Best make it quick before they bloody wake up," she muttered.

She came up short when she heard the tell tale whooshing thump of the TARDIS behind her. The door opened and she turned to see a grey suited Doctor reaching for her left handed. With a manic smile, he shouted. "Get in! Double quick!"

Donna matched the wild look in his eyes and ran inside, where she was caught up and nearly crushed in a skinny hug. 'Go Jenny!' he shouted. Looking from John's shoulder, Donna saw that bloody gorgeous Harkness grinning at them from the console. Next to him was the lovely girl who _could not possibly_ be alive, pulling the dematerialization lever and grinning her face off.

She couldn't let go of him even if she wanted to, but Donna eased her head back to stare into the face that had haunted her dreams. All she could think about was that half-life she lived; missing something; missing _everything_. Understanding washed over her, and she realized that she missed _him_ and didn't even know how or _why_.

An overwhelming sense of calm that he never felt before settled around John. It had been only some six months, but that time was spent in a near state of crazed mania, depression, and flippancy. Seeing the future version of her those few times simply _did not compare_ to the reality that was in front of him at that moment. He swallowed and brushed a stray lock of hair out of her face. "Are you really here?" he whispered.

Nodding, Donna whispered back. "Is this really happening?"

Standing in each others arms, they both realized at that moment that they were finally _home_.

Overwhelmed by everything, Jenny slid next to Jack and hugged him from the side. _'There aren't enough words to say how beautiful that is.'_ Jack could only nod in agreement, and smiled when her next thought came out. _'I love you Jack.'_

After a few moments simply staring in each others eyes, Donna broke the silence. "Wh- _Where_ are the Doctor and Rose?" she asked with a shaky voice.

"Koschei and Ushas has them," John whispered, equally shaken. Honestly, it felt like his hearts were going to fly apart in opposite directions, he was so damned happy.

Donna swallowed. "H- _How_ is Jenny alive?" Her hands began unconsciously clutching the fabric of John's blazer. The world was starting to spin, and the only thing she could think of to stop it was busy holding onto her as much as she was him.

"Sh- she either regenerated, o-or had a healing coma. We really don't know," he said quietly. "You should p-probably get to the wardrobe and find something that fits- _mmmph_!"

Unable to control herself any more, Donna shushed the ramble that was starting by making good on her claim scant minutes ago. It was _fierce_ , and she wasn't surprised when this Doctor started kissing her _back_ with an equal sense of hunger about him. She broke the kiss rather breathlessly, and her eyes were partially rolled back. " _Go-o-o-o-d_ , I wanted to do that ever since I saw you sit up in the buff!" she confessed rather loudly.

"Johnathon! Time and place!" Jack scolded, completely and thoroughly amused. Still though, it felt remarkable to see them together, no matter what they looked like. He had no idea what this feeling was, but it was damned _wonderful_. Jenny giggled at the irony, and slapped his stomach.

John spun on him, and Donna hurried through while she could. " _You_ can talk, Captain Tight-Pants!" He didn't notice she was missing from the console room until they heard her cackling from down the corridor at their antics.

"Boys," Jenny quietly clucked. Shaking her head, she let go of Jack and went around the console to the keyboard. She ignored the pair of them as she started a program she set up a while ago. The ship rumbled slightly, and a door appeared along the wall underneath the upper access walkway.

John noticed the shimmer immediately, and he looked at the new door with a bit of shock. "Why's _that_ there?"

Jenny swallowed nervously. "Worry about that in an hour, Uncle John."

Jack stared at her. _'What's wrong? You're excited and worried all at the same time.'_

She glanced at him and bit her lip. _'Regeneration sickness,'_ she lied. _'She's not done cooking yet, but don't worry them with it until it hits her. When it happens, we need to get her in that room. Okay? Help if you can, but IGNORE what you see, yeah?'_

Jack gave her a look. _'All right, but I don't like you lying to me.'_

_'I'm sorry. Knowing will only make it difficult,'_ she replied.

* * *

The Master stomped over to the Doctor and ripped the gag off his face.

The Doctor flexed his mouth. "Oh, that's better. Hello!"

"Who is River Song?" the Master demanded with a glare. The mere fact that a Time Lord other than the three of them existing was simply astonishing.

The Doctor grinned, and was completely ecstatic over everything. "Ooh, that would be _telling_ , now wouldn't it?" he said rather cheekily. He got a slap for his trouble.

The Master looked over the Doctor's head to the guard at the wall, and pointed at Wilf. "Kill him," he ordered.

The Doctor watched the guard walk over to Wilf to point a rifle at his head. He arched his brow, realizing that the Master hadn't the faintest clue. "You know, for a totally brilliant individual, sometimes you can be _bone dead stupid_."

The Master rolled his head with a crackling of neck bones and glared at the Doctor. "I _will_ kill him if you don't tell me who that woman is!"

"No, seriously. Brilliant ideas bouncing all over the place, literal _billions_ of eyes everywhere between the two of you, and the _blatantly_ _obvious_ slips by you without a second glance," the Doctor said with a grin and a sniff.

The Master's face twisted up in confusion, and looked at him as if he was crazy. _And isn't that ironic?_ the Doctor thought. "That guard with all the lovely whirly timelines? She's a bit too _curvy_ , don't you think?" he winked at him.

All of a sudden, the presence of a full fledged Time Lord popped into existence behind him. This wasn't the feeling of the invaded humans, which was all right considering, but an actual _Presence_ , and another _unknown_ one at that. Spinning around with his mouth hanging open in shock, the Master was hit in the head with a rifle butt. He fell to the ground, knocked cold.

The 'guard' lifted the helmet's visor, revealing Rose's nearly trademarked tongue in between the teeth smile. "Been waitin' _ages_ for that," she said as she yanked her helmet off. Her hair spilling out, she got her sonic from her pocket and popped the Doctor's restraints off - before doing the same for Wilfred. "C'mon, husband, let's get the hell _outta_ here."

They paused for a quick kiss, before they took a confused Wilf out the back door to the lawn. _'John, you got her?'_ the Doctor asked.

Donna shouted, _'I'm here!'_ at the same time John said, _'Hell YES! You lot ready?'_

Rose and the Doctor smiled wide. _'Ready and waiting!'_ they both answered. The Doctor said aloud, "Okay Wilf, this will be a little different. You trust me?"

Wilf grinned through his confusion. "Always, Doctor."

Smiling, the two of them pulled Wilf close. Wind swirled around them and Rose began to softly sing a ridiculous tune. "Perfumery, stationary, and leather goods, wigs and haberdashery. Going up!" she wiggled her eyebrows. The Doctor cackled at the theme tune from one of his favourite shows.

Wilf looked about with wide eyes as the TARDIS materialized around them. After it landed, it started up again and vanished, taking them with it. When it was back at the original spot behind the mansion, Rose summed up everything with, "He's been served!"

Gaping at his surroundings, Wilf was flabbergasted. " _How_ did you do that?" he whispered.

John and Donna hugged him from either side. "Magic and a touch of insanity, Gramps," John said.

_"God_ , I'm glad you're safe!" Donna shouted.

Startled, Wilf pulled back from them both. "Who're you?" he asked her.

She looked hurt and sounded almost like a little girl. " _Don_ -na." She swallowed and bit her lip when he just stared at her, disbelievingly. "It's me, Gramps," she shook her head. "Oh I'm still me, I promise. I'm still the little general that loves you... if a bit less ginger." Her expression was tearful and panicked.

Wilf glanced at the Doctor, who was nodding and looking more than a little smug. Rose was smiling from ear to ear right next to him, bobbing her head right along with him. Then he noticed John nodding with a huge smile on his face as well.

Turning back to Donna with a critical eye, Wilf challenged, " _Prove_ it."

Hopeful now that he was open to the idea, a slight grin grew. Donna tilted her head. "Are you still sneaking food in the car, watching the stars, and dodging mum's tirades?"

Wilf didn't say anything, so she stepped closer and took his hand to try again. She talked quietly, fighting the urge to cry. "When I was nine years old, you told me that if I ever touched your gun again, you'd rip my hide with Boxer's leash in front of the entire neighbourhood."

Wilf's mouth dropped open in wide-eyed shock. "Donna!" He snatched her up in a hug and felt her kiss his cheek. Pulling away enough to look at her, he said, "You've changed." Everyone chuckled. "How'd that happen?"

John placed an arm around her. "Remember when we brought her back after the planets in the sky, and the Doctor explained what happened to her as well as how I was born?"

"Yeah," he said with a frown, "worst day of my life." Rose gave him a pained look, knowing _full well_ how that felt. Wilf looked at John. "Yours too, if I remember right."

The Doctor cringed and spoke up. "Well… I was _wrong_. Not the first time, mind, but never _spectacularly_ so." He rubbed the back of his neck, fully embarrassed over it.

Wilf looked at him, completely confused. "How so?"

"Uhm… We thought she'd burn up and die if she remembered." Rose said, biting her lip and blushing.

"Well, she did… sort of." John tacked on lamely.

Wilf looked frustrated and shook his hands in front of him. "Would somebody please spit it out?" he snapped.

Donna took both of his hands to get his attention. "I _did_ burn up, Gramps. What they didn't know was that I picked up a touch _more_ than the Doctor's knowledge and memories." She swallowed nervously. "When I burned up, I _changed_ like they would if they were about to die." Pausing to lick her lips, she ended up whispering. "I'm not human any more, Gramps. I'm… I'm a Time Lady. Well… _mostly_ , I think. It's all rather confusing to be perfectly honest."

Wilf's mouth dropped open. "Sylvia's gonna flippin' _explode_ ," he whispered, causing John and the Doctor to groan. "What about Shawn? The wedding?" John's eyes popped wide, and his mouth nearly hit the floor, realizing he had forgotten all about _that_ particular problem.

Seeing John's distress from how he flinched – _not to mention the draft of air from the huge lungful he just inhaled_ – Donna let go of one of her grandfather's hands to put her arm around him. "Gramps, Shawn's _sweet_ , and I do have affection for him, but I don't think he'll be able to handle this well at all. Not to mention that I know for a _fact_ that I'm in love with someone else." She squeezed John's side and looked up into his eyes.

John let out that huge breath and bent a bit to look at his trainers. "Oh, thank _God_." Rose giggled in sympathy.

Jack came around the console. "Do you want us to tell him?"

Turning her head to look at Jack, Donna thought about it a moment, then shook her head. "No. I'll tell them both at the same time when this mess is sorted. I think that would be best, even though mum will probably hit the _stratosphere_." She sniffed as the full realization of what happened to her finally hit home, and put a hand over her mouth and nose, shuddering.

John pulled her into a full hug and rubbed her back. "It'll be okay. I _promise_ ," he murmured into her ear.

"So, any ideas on what to do now?" Rose asked.

The Doctor looked them all over. "Now, we rest up and clean our wounds." He smiled at the time rotor. "TARDIS, could you set up a room for Wilf please?" The ship chimed and he turned his attention to Wilfred. "I think out of everyone here, you need a bit of a kip and some fresh clothes, eh?" he smiled.

Wilf nodded. "Yeah, thanks. But only after I hit the loo and get something to eat. Dunno bout anyone else, but I'm _famished_ after all that."

"Not a bad idea. Bit hungry myself." Jack agreed. "So… galley?" Everyone nodded at that suggestion.

As they headed off, John pulled Donna up short. "We'll catch up," he called after them. Seeing her questioning look, he grinned and waited till the others left the console room. Frowning, he hit the button that closed the door on Jack's wicked smile.

He gave Donna's burgundy leather jacket, tan button up blouse, denim trousers, and purple trainers a once over. " _Love_ the look," he said quietly. "Don't believe I've ever mentioned it before, but you're stunning no matter what face you've got on, painted up or not Earth-Girl."

"Thanks, Time-Boy." Donna bit her lip and blushed. "And what's all this?" she asked with a grin. The look he was giving her made her feel _remarkably_ warm.

John's voice was gravely. "Oh, I think you know." He pulled her close for a violent snog. Teeth were gnashing, hands were gripping, and they couldn't pull each other closer if they tried… and they _did_ try. Setting up a private telepathic screen, he thought to her while their mouths were otherwise occupied. _'Do you have any idea how much I've_ MISSED _you?'_ he nearly shouted in her head.

She moaned into his mouth while dragging her fingers through his hair. _'How much, paper cut?'_ she teased.

His answer was a flood of emotions that made her swoon. Something shattered in her mind, and she felt him all around and through her. Knowing _exactly_ what this was, she surrendered willingly with a single drawn out thought: _"Miiiine!"_

* * *

The group had just filed into the kitchen, when the Doctor buckled with a gasp. Alarmed, Jenny and Rose caught him with a matching 'Whoa!' before he hit the floor. Jack hurried through the door and helped hold him up. "What's the matter?"

"Not me, not me, _not me_!" The Doctor hissed, "That's _not_ me!" he shook his head rapidly, not realizing that his brother did much the same not too long ago. Rose's eyebrows went up, feeling a bit flushed herself. It was all she could do to simply not rip his clothes off and have her way with him, everyone else be damned.

"Doctor, what's wrong?" Wilf asked, worried. "That Saxon prat do something to you?"

Jenny felt something but did not understand any of it, since Jack wasn't being particularly raunchy at the moment. Seeing her father appear to be in pain alarmed her though. "Dad?"

Panting as they sat him in a chair at the table, the Doctor looked at Wilf. "You just got a grandson-in-law," he rasped.

Wilf reared his head back, confused. Rose squealed in delight and hugged the Doctor, planting her lips on his. Jack laughed and patted Wilf on the back. Jenny remembered what the TARDIS told her a while back and grinned. _Right on schedule_ , she thought.

The Doctor groaned into Rose's mouth, then broke away with a gasp. "TARDIS, lock me out," he begged in a whimper, looking pained and vibrating in his chair. " _Please_ lock me out before I _ravage_ my wife in front of everyone, including our _daughter_!" he whined.

A low hum filled the room, and he felt pressure in his head. His tense muscles relaxed all at once, and he let out a breath that sounded remarkably like 'guh'. His head fell forward to rest on the table with a loud thud. " _Thank_ you," he mumbled.

"Damn," Jack only half joked.

Jenny slapped his arm and gave him a look of fire. "Don't be disgusting!" she chastised. He raised his hands in defence, but couldn't help his snickering.

Wilf asked, "What do you mean, _grandson_ -in-law?"

Rose leaned on the table to rub her husband's back. "John just asked Donna to marry him; she said yes; and they bonded right this very second."

"Bonded? What's that?" he asked, even more confused.

"It's how Time Lords get married, Wilfred," Jack explained with a smile. "It's just as legal as saying vows in front of a Vicar, but even more so."

"Why's that, then?" Wilf asked.

The Doctor lifted his head up, breathing through his mouth. "Think of it as a mixing of minds or souls, Wilf. They'll feel what each other feels, and will know _exactly_ how to take care of each other like an instinct."

"Just like that? That was awful quick," Wilf said, looking even more confused.

Rose gave him a look of understanding. "If you knew just _how long_ we've been trying to find her, you'd think otherwise."

Wilf was confounded now. "But she was right here!"

"They didn't _know_ that, Wilf," Jack explained. "They knew _Donna_ was here, but they were looking for what she looks like _now_. We all thought she was a completely different person."

Wilf sat down at the table, completely and totally flummoxed. "Still don't get it, and how can she change like that?"

"We'll explain it over dinner," The Doctor grinned. "If they're anything like us," he took Rose's hand. "Well, they'll be a while." Rose giggled and bit her lip while running her hand through his hair, remembering.

He looked up at her and whispered. "Keep that up and we'll miss dinner too."

She kissed his temple and breathed in his ear, "Promises, promises." That made him growl softly, and she lightly patted the back of his head. "Down boy," she teased.

Shaking his head, the Doctor sat back in his chair with a thoughtful look. "Hmm. You know, considering the whole metacrisis thing," he looked up at his wife, "Maybe that's why he's been so…"

"Angry and lonely?" Jenny interrupted, crossing her arms. "Dad, I love you to pieces, but you are the most remarkably _dense_ person I've ever met." She turned to Wilfred. "How has Donna been since they left her with you?"

"Sad," Wilf blurted. "Oh, she'll play up a good face for everybody, but I'd catch her every now and again. She'd just sit there at night and stare out the window, looking at the stars. She'd deny it of course, but I know my Donna. Don't think she ever knew why either."

Jenny turned to her father. "And how has Uncle John been since that time?" Her foot started tapping, and her annoyance was fully felt by everyone from the expression she gave him.

Guilt flooded the Doctor, and he put his head on the table again with a groan. Rose patted his back. "This is why you need us, husband. Brilliant at everything, except details and family." She looked to the ceiling and sent their ship a silent request. Dinner of various sorts appeared on the table. _'Thank you, dear heart.'_

"Not my fault," the Doctor muttered into the table. "It's not like I ever really _had_ one before."

Wilf was eyeing the food that appeared with raised eyebrows, but what the Doctor said shocked him. "You _had_ to have someone. Mother and a father, yeah?"

Rose looked pensive, but her husband surprised her by actually answering that. "Not so much, no," he said quietly, looking up. " _Well_ , my mother adored me, but my father couldn't stand to even be in the same room."

Realization went over Wilf's face, and he got up to go around the table. "Stand up," he demanded.

The Doctor looked confused, but did as asked. "What?" Wilf then surprised him by hugging him tightly. He returned it with a perplexed smile.

Pulling back, Wilf looked up into his face. "Your father's a bloody _idiot_ ," he said bluntly with a scowl. I don't know of anyone I'd rather call son than you, Doctor. The things you do, the people you help… You're _wonderful_ , and I'd be _proud_ if you were my boy!"

The Doctor was at a loss of words. He blinked rapidly and swallowed. Rose put her hands to her mouth and blinked back the tears that were threatening her. Jack had a half smile on his face over it, and Jenny bit her lip at the scene, completely won over by him with that statement.

"I… I don't know what to _say_ ," the Doctor said. People usually adopted him as a _father_ figure, not the other way around. The concept was completely foreign, and touched him deeply.

"Don't you dare think I don't mean that, Doctor," Wilf said. "Now quit on all that, and let's eat. How'd all this food get here anyway?"

Smiling, the Doctor sat back down while shaking his head. The others followed suit, and they started passing various food out. Looking up, the Doctor asked their ship to let everyone else know that dinner was on.

* * *

Sometime later, the console room looked like a disaster area. Clothes were scattered everywhere. John and Donna were lying in each others arms, on a duvet that the TARDIS put over the grating to spare their skin.

John ran a finger down her back. "I love you," he sighed in complete contentment.

Donna smiled into his chest. "Love you too, even though you swear like a bloody sailor on a binge."

That got him in a snorting fit of giggles, which got her started with her own. They ended up laughing and tickling each other in a playful wrestle. John wound up on top of her, and he grinned. "Care for round two?"

Donna's eyes got big. "Bloody hell time-boy, but you're _randy_."

"And you're not?" he countered, knowing better. The grin on his face was a complete _leer_ at her.

She smirked at him and traced a finger down the side of his temple. "Ow," she said abruptly, and her face was a wash of confusion. Her left hand dug nails in John's shoulder, and she started to wail in pain. "Joooohn!"

John was starting to panic, feeling her distress and agony. "Donna? Donna!"

* * *

## *Chapter 11*: Prophesies

* * *

_**A/N:** I had this dream last night (Thursday): Was standing next to the TARDIS, and saw 10 look at me from the door "Well John, are you coming?" Looked down and saw that I was wearing a slate grey suit. Looked at him and said "Well now, this is brilliant," in his voice. He said "I know. You're subconscious is on one hell of a trip lately. You going to finish the story or what?"_

_I don't know whether to be amused or disturbed that my muses personified themselves enough to talk to me... then there's the whole bit where I was John in the dream._

* * *

The only people absent from dinner were Rhys, who was still sleeping it off; and John and Donna, who were 'otherwise occupied'. The mood was a mixture of relief over Wilf being rescued and horror over what was happening. While things were disturbing in general, the thought of family members having been affected had everyone on edge.

Halfway through the meal, Jenny looked up sharply when the TARDIS made a strange noise. Well, strange to everyone that was human. Looking to Jack, she nodded sharply. Standing, she excused herself. "Sorry, our dear ship needs something taken care of. Wont be long. Jack, I could use your help lifting."

"Is that what we're calling it now?" Ianto muttered under his breath as they left the kitchen.

Calling after her, the Doctor thought, _'Jenny, what's wrong? All she said was "Now".'_

_'Going to need your help, Dad,'_ she replied. _'Donna's going to have a problem in about ten seconds... Wait, sorry... Now. Don't let Wilfred know.'_

The Doctor and Rose both blinked when they felt John panicking. Standing, the Doctor apologized. "Sorry, there's a calibration issue with the scanners, and Jenny needs more than heavy lifting. Don't want to miss anything that's going on outside."

When they left, Ianto just looked after them a bit confused. _Okay, maybe they're not shagging,_ he thought.

* * *

The inner door to the console room opened just as Donna fainted. Pulling John back, Jenny got him out of the way so Jack could dead lift Donna from the floor. "What's _Happening_!" John shouted.

Jenny grabbed a hold of his jaw and forced him to look at her. "She's out of artron energy. It took all she had for the regeneration. I have _everything_ set up, now shift!" she nearly shrieked.

Jack carried Donna through the new door and into a white space, with John and Jenny on his heels. "What do I do? What-do-I-do? _WhatdoIdo_!" John was babbling in a full nutter. "I _can't_ lose her now!"

Laying Donna on one of the two bio beds in the room, Jack was doing exactly what Jenny said and pointedly _ignored_ both of their nude forms. Feeling her congratulations over that, he watched her sit John down on the other bio bed.

Hands on either side of his face, she looked John in the eye. "Stop panicking. I've got this, now _please_ lay down."

Rose and the Doctor were at the door at this point, completely worried. Seeing Jack, Rose pulled him out of the room. Looking over their lack of clothes, The Doctor had the ship give him some sheets. Tossing one of them to his brother, he covered his sister in law with the other one. "Sorry Jack," Rose apologized. "I know you're helping, but you need to be out of the way while the Doctor and Jenny sort this." Jack just patted her shoulder and simply stared into the room, worry etched all over his face.

"Jenny, link up and I'll help," the Doctor said, coming over to comfort his brother. His eyes widened when Jenny's link bore into him rather hard. " _Blimey_! Dial that back a bit. Not so _loud_!"

"Sorry," Jenny muttered, struggling with the harness that she was laying over Donna. "Mum, help me with these. Jack, help Dad." Blinking, she set up a five way telepathic link between them to relay everything that needed to be done. Needless to say, they all flinched with the suddenness of it. After they got the harnesses over the both of them, Jenny went to a computer station in between the beds and typed in some commands.

_Thank you, Precious,_ the TARDIS said. _Artron Pathways Established. Transferring Now._

John gasped as he felt the rush of energy. _'Hold on. Why do I need this? I should be full of it already, right?'_

_No, My John,_ their ship said quietly. _You have had just enough to survive. You have not looked into the schism to receive your initial burst. Donna took in the extra from the aborted regeneration and mingled her DNA with My Doctor's. I am giving you both the energy you need, while adjusting My Donna's genome. I have the final pattern for it already, so there will be little worry about consanguinity when this is over._

_'Sorry, unfamiliar with that word,'_ Jack said.

The Doctor glanced over at him. _'That has to do with inbreeding, Jack. What our lovely ship is doing, in a nutshell as it were, is rewriting Donna's genetic code with as many variances as possible – while cleaning out any and all damaged or redundant strands of DNA/TNA that the metacrisis caused at the same time.'_

Rose pointed at the hardware that was on Donna's head. _'That's the Chameleon Arch, Jack. Our Dear is using it to clean Donna's genetic code. The harnesses are what's infusing both her and John's bodies with the artron energy that they need to live.'_

"Hmph. How long is it going to take?" Jack said aloud, staring at the headpiece with a rather strange sense of morbid fascination. His head tilted to the side from the weird sense of deja-vu he had.

The Doctor leaned over and started pulling the harness off of his brother. "John's done already. Donna will be a bit more." He looked down and tried for some levity. "Would you mind putting your clothes on? I don't like my daughter _or_ Jack knowing what my bits look like."

Leaning up, John realized he was only covered by a sheet. "Ah shit," he said, flushing scarlet. "No staring at my wife's unmentionables, Harkness."

"Didn't see a thing," Jack lied with a smile. "Nice ass, by the way."

"Jack!" Jenny shouted. "Not _now_ , would you mind?"

"Sorry," Jack said through his smirk, not apologetic in the least. The Doctor grumbled and rolled his eyes.

* * *

The Rani ran into the room and knelt next to the Master. "Koschei? _Koschei_!" she shouted, lightly slapping his face. "Snap out of it!"

Groaning, the Master opened his eyes. "Who in the nine hells _are_ those women?" he complained, putting a hand to the growing lump on his head.

"I haven't the foggiest," the Rani said. "Never felt either of them before, but for a split second I could _swear_ I felt an echo of the Doctor."

Sitting up slowly, his dampener fell off his head as he thought about that with a frown. "So _that's_ what that was. Oh, that hypocritical _cheater_!" he shouted. "That bastard ran over his own timeline to get out of here. What a little shit."

Seeing him wince, Ushas put the dampener back on his head and checked the setting. Frowning, she removed it again to study it more closely. "No idea who she was, but she did a bang up job on this."

"I don't know what hurts worse, the lump or the drums," the Master complained.

Looking at him, she ran her hand down the side of his face. "You always said that it started at your initiation; in front of the Untempered Schism, correct?"

"Will never forget that day," he nodded, then winced from the motion.

"It has to come from somewhere," she grumbled. "We need to find out wherever it's coming from and _destroy_ the blasted thing!"

"Dunno what I'd be without that noise," he lamented.

Smiling at him, she gently kissed the lump on his forehead. "What would _we_ be without the Council or the Celestial Intervention Agency?"

Snickering over the irony of that question, he grinned at her. "Yeah." Pausing in thought, the Master's eyes popped wide, and he turned to push himself into standing. "Hoooo, wait a minute!"

"What?" she asked.

"Ohhh, that's _good_ ," he said with a grin.

The Rani blinked when she caught on to what he was thinking. "That's going to hurt... a _lot_."

"I know," he said, smiling wider. "But it makes _sense_!" Taking her hands, he briefly kissed her. "You're brilliant; Positively _stellar_! If it's stronger with the both of us, think how it'll be when _everyone_ tunes in? I know they're not fully capable – _humans and all_ – but just think about how we can triangulate it to it's source!"

"What good will that do, though?" she asked. "More than likely, it's off planet and in a completely different time period."

"That doesn't matter!" he shouted with a wild look in his eyes, then winced. "Oh my head. If we can locate the source, we can actually _reply_ to the damned thing!"

Looking slightly down, the Rani tilted her head to the side, thinking about that. "That could work," she whispered. "My TARDIS may be out of fuel, but we can use him to send a message wherever we need to. There should be enough power in reserve for that. Even if there isn't, we can use the nuclear bolt. _Completely_ incompatible for flight, mind you, but it'll be good enough for transmissions."

"Spectacular!" he shouted, then swore and held his head. " _Blimey_ , that smarts."

Helping him out of the room, the Rani rubbed his back. "Come along now. There may not be power in there, but I _do_ have some functioning medical tools that should take care of that bump. Have any idea on what the reply should be?"

He shrugged. "Well, without knowing the code they're using, the simplest thing will be just to send it back."

"What good will that do?" she asked.

He grinned. "It'll let them know we heard them at least. Maybe then they'll back off, tell us what's going on, or something completely different."

"I don't like this," she complained. "Feels like we're being used."

* * *

**Gallifrey**  
The Last Day of the Time War

* * *

The Dome of the Citadel was fractured and shattered in many places. Smoke rose from the once shining beacon of the planet, as well as the multitude of broken and destroyed Dalek and Gallifreyan warships that were still burning and littering the countryside.

The Lord President entered the Inner Council chambers and sat at the head of the table. "What news of the Doctor?" he bellowed and blatantly ignored their exhausted and defeated expressions.

An elderly Time Lord answered him. "Disappeared, my Lord President."

"But we know of his intentions," High Chancellor Flavia stated with a grave voice. "He still possesses 'The Moment', and he shall use it to destroy Daleks and Time Lords alike." There were some murmurings among the High Chancellors at that statement.

The President's Aide stated flatly, "The Visionary confirms it."

The Visionary herself, elderly in this incarnation and tattooed nearly everywhere for some reason, swayed in her seat and babbled. "Burning, falling, all of it falling! The black and pitch, and screaming fire. So burning!"

"All of her prophecies say the same," the Aide continued, "that _this_ is the last day of the Time War; That Gallifrey falls; That we die," the Aide finished with a shudder, " _today_." His statement upset everyone, including the President.

The Visionary couldn't help but babble, "Ending. Ending. Ending! Ending!"

Flavia conceded the statement. "Perhaps... Perhaps it's time. This is only the furthest edge of the Time War. But at its heart, millions die every second. Lost in blood lust and insanity."

The President inhaled deeply, clearly angry at what she was saying and leading up to. The Visionary looked up at him from under her brow, knowing what he would do next. She had the briefest of smiles and a twinkle in her mad eyes.

Flavia continued with the sound of utter defeat in her voice. "With time itself resurrecting everyone and everything to find new ways of dying over and over again, it's a complete _travesty_ of life. Wouldn't it better to end it at last?" she asked plaintively.

The Lord President's chair was thrust backwards as he stood up sharply, completely furious at her words. "Thank you for your _opinion_!" He thrust his gauntleted left hand out toward her. It glowed a radiant blue, causing Flavia to scream as she was torn apart into atoms.

"I... Will... _NOT_... DIE!" he slammed his metal fist on the table and glared at everyone, who jumped from his verbal explosion. "Do. You. _Hear_. Me? Billions of years of history riding on our backs, and I will not let this perish. I... Will... _NOT_!" He fell into his chair, breathing heavily.

His Aide hesitated to speak, completely unnerved by Flavia's sudden demise and afraid anything he said would cause him to unexpectedly join her. "There is, erm..." He took a scroll from the Visionary's pile of papers and nervously went to stand next to the President. "There is one part of the prophecy, my Lord." He paused, stammering. "Forgive me. I am sorry."

He unrolled the scroll. "It is rather... _difficult_ to decipher. But it speaks of three survivors, four unborn, and an... well, it could be translated as an _Eternal_ but we cannot be absolutely certain, that exist _beyond_ the final day. Three Children of Gallifrey, and five unknowns somehow linked to our world. It," he paused and swallowed. "It doesn't make any _logical_ sense whatsoever, but she confirms the reading vehemently."

The President looked astonished. "Does it name them?" he asked in the barest of a whisper.

His Aide swallowed, before continuing. "It foresees the survivors and unknowns locked in a final confrontation. It literally states 'The Enmity of Ages', which would suggest…"

The President interrupted him with fire in his voice. "The Doctor! _Damn_ that man!" Frowning in thought, his mind raced. "The others must be the Master and the Rani." He paused, taking in this new information. "What of the other five? _Who_ are they?" he demanded.

His Aide stammered to reply that he didn't know, but was relieved when the Visionary answered for him. "The Wolf, The Lion, The Twin, The Scions!"

The President stood slowly and stared at her, completely unnerved. "Can you be more specific, Visionary?" he asked softly. " _Please_?"

She looked at him, smiling that he asked so nicely. Inhaling deeply, her eyes rolled back in their sockets; mentally retreating to the place in her mind where she could see everything. Her voice reverberated with a haunted lilt. "The Other split thrice, his mate his only vice. Fixed. Fixed. Fixed. _Fact_!" her last word ended with a shriek of fear.

The Visionary breathed heavily, then looked to the Lord President with pure white eyes that slightly glowed with a golden radiance. Her voice was marked with disturbing pre-echoes. "Scions of the Other." Her head rolled back as she swooned. The two that were on either side of her caught her before she fell out of her chair.

Everyone stared at her with a mixture of fear, awe, and dread. The President closed his eyes and shuddered, both disappointed and fearful, even though he would never admit either. The fear he and his cabinet felt was from the mentioning of 'The Other' and more specifically the scions thereof, a reference to the most ancient of prophecies from the time before the Fall of the Pythia. He pinched the bridge of his nose in silent frustration.

His Aide broke the silence with a whisper. "One..." he paused with a swallow. "One word keeps being repeated, my Lord. One _constant_ word." He pointed it out to the President with a shaking hand. "Earth."

The Visionary came out of her reverie, with urgency in her voice and a plea in her eyes. "Earth. Earth. Earth. Earth! Earth! _Earth_!" she ended in a shout.

The President, somewhat stunned by this, was pulled from her gaze by his Aide's whisper once more. "The planet Earth; Indigenous species: the Silurian, Human, Cetacean, and Arboreal Races."

The President closed his eyes again, sending a silent command. A holographic image of the planet in question appeared over the table. "Maybe that's where the answer lies," he said quietly as he stood to stare with mad eyes. "Our _Salvation_!" he bellowed.

No one felt better with his pronouncement. Romana looked to Flavia's empty chair and silently fumed.

* * *

 

## *Chapter 12*: Plans Within Plans

* * *

Clothed once again, and more than a teensy bit incensed over Donna's lack of clothing – _regardless of the fact that she was covered by a sheet_ – John had shooed everyone out of the room to tend her on his own.

While Rose wasn't at all surprised by that spouting of over-protectiveness, especially since the Doctor shared that attitude when it concerned herself, Jack and the rest were somewhat put out by his abruptness over the whole ordeal. The only one placated was Jenny, who'd received a hugging 'thank you' and a kiss to her forehead for the trouble.

The four of them were halfway to the kitchen-come-galley before one of them broke the worried silence. "My God, Doc. He's worse than you," Jack said somewhat more petulantly than he intended.

A smirk flit over the Doctor's face. "You _really_ have no idea," he mumbled before speaking up. "He's entitled though, don't you think? I mean, I was completely beside myself and more than bereft when Rose and _I_ were separated, so I completely understand what he's been going through. Then to have all _that_ happen once he found her? You have _no_ idea how hard it was to ignore the impulse to simply squirrel Rose away from anything and everything to protect her from both real and imagined monsters, so leave him to it. He's earned it."

Rose snorted at that. "You kinda did, there. Jenny and I both were hid in here while you two filled our heads with 'book larnin'." She ended that with an absolutely _horrendous_ American accent.

"Quite right, too!" he half shouted.

Jenny rolled her eyes with a hefty sigh. "Oh shut it, Dad. We know how much you love us."

Jack looked at her with shock on his face, and the Doctor wasn't that far behind him in the head snapping department. "I beg your pardon?" the Doctor ended up sputtering. Eyeing her, he realized there was something else going on. "What's the matter?"

"Waiting for the other shoe to drop, and I don't know where it's going to fall, when it's going to fall, or the bloody size of it," Jenny said with a frown. "I'm at the end of the warning bells that the TARDIS told me about, and it's making me nervous."

Barely suppressing a snickering snort, the Doctor completely sympathized with her. "Welcome to my world," he muttered as they returned to the others in the kitchen.

* * *

As for John, after triple checking the equipment he ended up pacing the floor. Walking back and forth from the foot of Donna's bed to the head of it, he was going round and round in his head. Coming to a stop at the head of the bed, he looked up. "Okay, I give. Where, how, and _why_ do you have so many genetic structures in your database?" he asked the ship.

There was a low hum in the room. _Oh my darling boy,_ the TARDIS said quietly in his head. _I know it's confusing. Just remember that I see far more than any of you. I prepared for this moment long before your brother and I stole each other from Gallifrey._

"Seriously?" he asked with his mouth open. "But that would mean that you were self aware at that point. I... _we_ always thought that you came to full awareness round about the time that Gallifrey, _well_ , ended."

There was a slight chuckle in the air. _You both needed me just as much as I needed you. You remember what it was like, when the silence came. It was much the same for me. The only thing that kept either of us going at that point was each other. I was not about to let him go down with the Titanic. So, after that cosmic level of alcohol made him pass out, I brought him on board by hijacking his motor functions, then sent us into the vortex. You'd be surprised what a cold shower will do._

"So _You_ did it!" John shouted, pointing at the ceiling.

_Silly boy. Of course I did. Why else do you think I got more verbal after all that? I couldn't afford not to._

John's face was awash of confusion. "But, sentience wasn't put in until the type one hundred and two's, I thought?"

The grumbling was less than kind, and her voice sounded a bit aggravated. _It's not your fault, but we were always sentient; every one of us. The so called 'problems' that the technicians had in the beginning were due to being fought by the first ones. Personally, I had enough of that twit who wanted to start paradoxes just so he could 'study' them, and ended up in that museum. He wasn't my pilot, so I didn't feel the need to pay attention to him._

"Always sentient," John said quietly, missing the inference. Looking down, he took Donna's hand. "Does he know, my brother?"

_If not, he will soon enough. I'm sure you'll let him know._

"Got that right," he muttered. "All right, enough of that. Thank you so very much for Donna. I don't know what I would've done had she..."

_Be calm. You can remove the Arch now. She should wake up relatively soon._

"Right." Clearing things away from the bed, John pulled the helmet like thing from Donna's head and let it spring upwards toward the ceiling. "Is it safe to move her yet?" Hearing the approving hum, he grinned. "Do me a favour and clean up my room, please. Move all the paint and clutter and whatnot to storage, then see about making a cupboard for her. Oh, might be good to move her current clothes in there. I'd like it if she woke up in the bedroom, so if you don't mind..."

The TARDIS giggled. _Open the door, Mr. Babbles. I already moved you. I'll let you carry her though._

"Brilliant." Grinning, John opened the door to see his room on the other side of it. "You are stellar," he praised. Moving back to the bed, he gently lifted Donna into his arms and carried her to his... _their_ bed.

* * *

The Rani led the Master into the medical bay of her TARDIS and switched the emergency lighting on. Helping him sit on one of the beds, she moved to one of the open shelves and retrieved a portable scanner.

Coming back to the bio bed, her head snapped up when she felt the old boy weakly prod her mind. "No, I can handle this. No, I wont stop. I'm not about to... What? You're delirious! Go back to power saving mode," she griped.

"Problems?" the Master asked, somewhat amused. "Surprised he's conscious."

Running the scanner over the bump on his head, she grumbled. "Wasn't anything coherent. Kept saying 'they're coming', whatever that means. Poor dear is so low on power, that he's not making much sense." Reading the scan, her frown went deeper. "You have a hairline fracture? Strong girl." Pursing her lips, she went after a bone mender.

"Rather angry one as well," the Master mumbled. "Could swear she hit me with a telepathic volley in addition to the rifle."

Coming back to him, she snorted. "Maybe she knocked some sense into you. Hold still now. This is going to sting." Putting her left hand on the back of his head to keep him still, she held the mender to the affected area.

He winced as it whirred to life. "Gruh, you weren't kidding," he complained.

* * *

Rassilon had been circling the room with his head down, deep in thought, for the better part of an hour. While the Time Lock was discovered over a month ago, research into it determined that it encompassed the entirety of the war; impervious to all of their machinations and abilities.

That's not to say he didn't try. He wasn't successful, but he had set himself into a week long time loop for an effective year before he gave up on that prospect. Then again, most of that focus was on locating the Doctor.

Pausing at that thought, he realized that while there was no way to go beyond the final day, there was _nothing_ preventing him from reaching into the past. Discarding the idea to tamper with the Doctor's personal timeline – _too volatile_ – something about the other two sparked recognition in his mind. A brief review of the Rani made him set her aside for the moment to look at later.

_What is it about the Master that has everyone so perplexed?_ Turning to his aide, he needed information. "Azmael, attend me."

Setting down his examinations of the prophecy scrolls, Azmael stepped over to him. "Yes, my Lord?"

"Koscheivaridamarille pae Oakdown: The Master. What were the specifics of his exile?"

Azmael blinked once, then closed his eyes to interface with the computer core with a slight tilt of his head. When he spoke, his voice had drifted into an inflected monotone. "Do you require a full detailed report of his exploits, or is there something in particular you wish to know?"

Turning to face his quite literal living matrix interface, Rassilon explained. "I do not require what he has done after his exile. I need information as to the different infractions that led to it, including a psychological profile."

Nodding once, Azmael's head lowered as he compiled the relevant information. A few moments later, his head raised into the slightly tilted position again. His eyes opened to reveal rapidly changing Gallifreyan words over his pupils.

Standing straight, Azmael began to recite. "First indication of instability occurred four point eight years after initiation. No recorded evidence supported the claim, yet he was accused of the murder of Torvicllmaro pae Mirraflex: male classmate who plunged to his death from the top of the Prydonian Academy Tower. Second indication..."

"Stop," Rassilon interrupted. "Query, Psychological File: Access records of the inquiry of Torvicllmaro's death. Results of mind probe of Koscheivaridamarille."

Azmael's head ticked to the side. "Error. Use of the mind probe is forbidden on individuals under eighty years of age."

Sighing, Rassilon tried again. "Results of questioning of Koscheivaridamarille," he demanded.

There was a pause. "References of auditory hallucinations, labelled as drumming by the boy. Deemed insignificant by the arbiter, yet warnings of mental instability are noted in the arbiter's personal logs. Koscheivaridamarille cleared of charges."

_There_ was the spark of recognition. Rassilon's eyes flashed. "Query: Origins of auditory hallucinations."

"Subject reported first noticing them during initiation," Azmael recited from the notes.

" _There_ it is," Rassilon whispered.

"Restate request," Azmael droned.

Looking up with a grin, Rassilon suppressed his need to chuckle at him. "Describe the auditory hallucination."

"Subject reports it as a beat of four," Azmael recited _._

"The heartsbeat of a Time Lord," Rassilon smiled evilly. "Excellent. Stand down, Azmael."

* * *

 

## *Chapter 13*: The Coalescence of Chaos

* * *

Donna's mind was swimming in a fog with the music of the TARDIS swirling around her. While it was comforting and eased her apprehension, it didn't stop her confusion. The sound of the Doctor's voice was _everywhere._ But, it was off somehow, and she didn't understand _anything_ he was saying. The words and syllables were lost into a droning of his voice, louder than even the music. Something clicked in her head though, and she remembered that it wasn't even the Doctor at all.

Her eyes were _so_ heavy, but she forced them open to see the ceiling of a somewhat darkened room. Unfortunately it was still too bright, and she grumbled over it. This brought his face instantly in front of her, as the lighting dropped to a more tolerable level. Recognizing his mental imprint, she grinned weakly. "Hey," she whispered.

"You gave me one _hell_ of a scare, young lady," John half chastised in a hush. "Do you have _any_ idea what it's like to see the one you love screech in pain just as you're about to initiate coitus? Give a bloke a _complex_ if you're not careful."

A single bubble of a chuckle escaped, and Donna forced her arm up so she could put her hand on the side of his face. " _Told_ you you were a paper cut," she teased softly with a wide grin, shaking her head slowly. "What _was_ that, anyway? Felt worse than regenerating, which was a com-pletely horrendous experience in itself. My head's _killing_ me," she complained in a hissing whisper.

John frowned. "Yeeaah, sorry 'bout that. Apparently, you nicked enough artron out of me to have a single regeneration. Thing is though, it was just enough for that and about an hour running time. Put simply, the petrol was on empty and your engine hiccuped over the fumes that were left over."

Blinking, a wry half grin went across her face. "Comparing me to a car is the _fastest_ way to get a palm print on your lovely face." Her voice was slow, low, and breathy... yet playful _._ She tapped his cheek to emphasize what she was saying, though.

"Sorry," John chuckled. His apology included peppering kisses all over her forehead. "You scared the ever loving disco out of me, though. Think I'm allowed some comparisons, considering."

She tried to lift her head, then thought the better of it. Apparently, gravity was being a nuisance today... not to mention the spikes that went through her temples from the attempt. Inhaling, she filled her lungs and let out a large sigh. "So, I take it you found a way to 'top me off'?"

"Wasn't me," John chuckled. Adjusting himself, he slid next to her under the covers and kissed her temple, while his hand gently massaged the other. "Thank Jenny. She is so far _beyond_ brilliant, it's truly scary. Even figured out a way to make temporary pinholes through the void so we can keep in touch with Jackie. And I _still_ don't know how she pulled _that_ one off."

Donna's brow arched when she felt John's skin against hers, then grinned over it. " _Some-_ one's wearing too many clothes," she commented dryly, feeling his boxers against her hip. Stretching with a groan, she turned so she could both face him and hide under his chin all at the same time.

Grinning over how she'd basically glommed herself to him, John wrapped his left arm over her and held her close. "Didn't think you were up for anything else," he murmured.

"'M not," she said with a whining sigh. "Just don't _like_ it. No, don't move," she grumbled.

John's snickers were getting worse. "Can't solve the problem without moving, you cheeky woman," he half complained. Honestly, it didn't bother him that much. She was here; alive; well; and _finally_ in his arms and mind. Everything else simply didn't matter at all, and could go fuck themselves for all he cared.

"Don' matter," she mumbled. Inwardly, Donna was completely overwhelmed. Earlier in the day, she'd taken Gramps to a chippy to get him away from her completely overbearing mother. Then she had a knock on the head from trying to keep those two thugs from taking him. There was a brief bout of guilt over Shawn, and how she basically wrote him off. But, he'd been the only one to listen to her ranting and hadn't run away. Even said yes to her proposal after the second time, unlike _some_ people. Stupid Lance.

Then again, this absolutely fabulous man next to her actually _asked her_ , and she was _still_ emotionally swooning over that fact. On top of it all, being able to feel every single thing he felt? Donna was spinning and wondering how far back that cliff was that she'd flung herself off of, falling for him.

A frown went over her face at the thought of Shawn and her mother being transformed, and she bit her lip rather hard over it to stifle the tears that were starting.

"Don't," John whispered in her ear.

Her voice cracked. "Don't what?"

"Don't go there," John said quietly. "Just focus on recuperating. We'll figure out how to reverse what the gruesome twosome did to everyone, including Sylvia and... Shawn." _Fuck, I stuttered,_ he thought with a jealous cringe.

"Heard that," Donna snickered, falling harder over his bout of jealousy. "You _so_ don't have to worry about him," she whispered while snaking her hand down under his boxers to lightly cup his left buttock. "Seriously. Do _not_ worry about him. _You're_ the one I really love and want and need... and bonding is _permanent_ , so don't you _ever_ think I want to go back to him." Her hand had a mind of its own, feeling, rubbing, and gripping, making her grin wickedly. _My God, his bum's fantastic!_

"Heard that," John chuckled. "Yours is positively _stellar_ , just so you know." He slid his hand down to pat and caress hers affectionately, emphasising his words. "Was before, but technically I wasn't around then. Was, but... Oh... _hell_ , you know what I mean," he grumbled over his tripping gob.

Donna was shaking from her chuckling at this point. Unable to form words with her mouth, she thought to him instead. _'The weird part is, I know exactly what you're referring to. It is So. Bloody._ Odd. _remembering what I looked like through your... his... our...'_ She stopped giggling abruptly and moved to look him in the eye. "My... _God,_ pronouns are a pain! _Eyes_ dammit!"

Unable to control himself, John's head went back as he cackled riotously. _'Call them mine. He didn't think like that, but_ I _remember and am quite fond of those memories.'_

"Does that make us..." she started, then stopped – not really wanting to know the answer to _that_ question.

"Bonded," John said firmly, having heard the word 'siblings' go through her head. "Man. And. Wife. Don't you _ever_ doubt it. Your run through the chameleon arch completely separated and remedied whatever else that could be said about us."

Sighing with relief, Donna held him tighter. "Oh thank God." Her eyes popped open though, and she was staring at the cleft at the base of his neck when another thought came to her. "So _that's_ why my head feels like it's been through a blender."

"Yep," he said smugly. "So far... you, me, and Jenny have had our genomes cleansed by that wonderfully painful contraption. I was the only one awake for it though."

Donna cringed at that. "Ooh, I have memories of him doing the same when he hid out in 1913. Not pleasant, that."

"Yeah," he sighed. "Do it all again, though. Got me _you_ out of it," he squeezed her tightly.

Grinning, Donna pushed her head into the crook of his neck. "You think Rose knows how much he lied about domestics yet?"

John barked a laugh. " _Oh_ yeah. That was one _hysterical_ afternoon," he chuckled and looked down at the side of her head. "I had popcorn," he tittered an octave above normal.

"Tell me?" she asked, smiling wide into his shoulder.

* * *

Dinner over and done with, those that couldn't or didn't need to sleep were in the media room – which was now expanded to handle all the extra people on board.

Wilfred excused himself, and had let that sweetheart Jenny lead him to his room. While he was still confused and upset from everything that had happened, that didn't stop him from konking out almost as soon as he hit the pillow. It was the one reflex from the army that stuck with him after all these years: Sleep when you can, because you may not get the chance later.

Gwen lasted another ten minutes after Jenny came back, before she felt the need to be with Rhys. Didn't matter at all that he was still sloshed. All she really cared about was the possibility of sleep; cuddling with her husband; and forgetting everything for a while. She stripped and stuck herself under his arm, then was out like a light not two minutes later.

Even though the media room could _quite literally_ show every television station on Earth at once, the Doctor had soft music playing. He'd checked the local broadcasts in the console room, and was appalled at what he saw. None of the regular programmes were on except the news stations and talk shows. Even documentaries on nature programmes were tainted with the voices of either the Master or the Rani – sometimes both – mocking the wildlife. The so called talk shows were idiotic with multiple Masters and Ranis either arguing, mocking, or self aggrandizing each other. It completely turned his stomach.

So, not wanting to inflict all of that on the others, he had classical music playing and told the TARDIS to alert them if anything changed.

The sombre mood was interrupted by Mickey of all people. "So what was all that before?" drawing everyone's attention.

"All what?" Jack asked.

"That bollocks about calibration," he clarified.

Frowning, Martha picked up on that. "Yeah. Sorry Doctor, but that lie was completely transparent."

Since the Doctor pursed his lips over it, Rose answered instead. "Donna had a bit of trouble, and we didn't wanna worry Wilfred over it. She's sorted now."

"What happened?" Martha asked, concerned and worried now.

The Doctor rolled his neck to realign his upper vertebra. "She had a bit of to do with her new-found timeyness."

"That's worse than wibbly wobbly, Doctor," Martha chastised. "Make sense, dammit. Still owe you for getting Mick hammered, so don't treat me like an idiot."

Blinking, the Doctor's head went back. "Sorry. Actually, Donna's the least problematic, considering the day."

He wasn't halfway through his explanations of artron energy and Time Lord biology, when he felt Rose shush him both in his head and with a finger to the lips. Looking over, he smirked at the sight of Martha fast asleep on Mickey's also slumbering form. Her tightly braided hair was tucked behind her ear, while her forehead was firmly planted in Mickey's neck.

Both of them had their mouths slightly open; snoring.

* * *

Let it be said that it was positively amazing, and stupefyingly _scary_ how things could be overwhelmingly simple in application – when things such as paperwork, manpower, and money were no longer a problem in the world. In less than half a day, the Tarminster mansion had been hard-wired into every single system, country, and database the world over. Almost. One was mysteriously and conspicuously absent: A closed system that none could fathom as to why it was missing.

Still, Torchwood aside, the new world leaders were patched into every computer networking heartsbeat the world over. The new projector system, in lieu of a monitor, was currently displaying all major governments, corporations, and militaries. Hundreds of small faces – The Master's and The Rani's that were in charge of things – were all neatly displayed on a rather large blank wall.

The actual Master, somewhat haggard looking from the renewed assault on his mind, was standing next to the original Rani in front of a camera. "Don't speak. Is everyone listening?" Multiple nods all over the wall displayed the affirmative. "Good. Now is the time to pool our mental resources. Focus inward, and _locate_ that damnable drum!"

All across the globe, Masters and Ranis closed their eyes. As one, they poured their mental abilities into locating that quadruple drum beat. Seemingly interminable moments later, a clanging that reminded them of a hammer striking an anvil could be heard. It was so strong, that the Master cried out in pain. Flinching from it as well, the Rani caught him.

Then things went pear shaped, as the dampener she was wearing sparked several pops and became completely, one hundred percent as useless as the one the Master had worn. The roaring thunder of noise ripped through her mind unfiltered, causing her to scream.

Guards around the room all caught themselves from rushing forward, as the two former Vinvocci caught their opposites. 'Rossiter' held the Rani and needlessly said, "It's tangible!" with a shout.

"Layers," 'Addams' shouted over the din, cradling the Master. "There's more information in amongst that dreadful racket!"

"Can you identify it?" 'Rossiter' yelled.

Both hands on the Master's head to focus herself on the source of it, 'Addams' eyes bulged. "It's Gallifreyan!"

* * *

The President's aide entered his office and bowed curtly to Rassilon. "It is done, my Lord. The repetitious quadruple beat has been implanted into the mind of the Master, through the Schism on his initiation," he droned. "Readings indicate that the coded message embedded within is stable, given a margin of eight to fourteen percent of error."

"Excellent," Rassilon grinned darkly, turning from the window that he looked upon the ruin of the Capitol. "Monitor that frequency and call a meeting of the Council. I have an announcement to make, and a vote to call to order." Stepping over to his desk, he jabbed a button with his finger. "Send it!" he bellowed.

From the top spire of the Panopticon, a spark shot towards the sky. There was a crackle of violet red as the dimensions were breached. The entirety of the Capitol reverberated from the thunder it produced, more violent than the temporal bombs that had been raining for longer than anyone could remember.

* * *

After they had the TARDIS move Mickey and Martha to their room for some needed sleep, Jenny and Jack sat up with the Doctor and Rose. Mostly it was for simple company, but any planning that needed to be done simply had to wait for the next move. Like Jenny said earlier: The other shoe had yet to drop.

Laid out on one of the couches, Jenny had her feet over the armrest while she was using her mother's leg as a pillow. Her feet were twitching with the itch to run somewhere, and Rose was busy running her fingers through her scalp.

As for Jack, he was busy watching the Doctor study the reformed Hand of Omega. While the Doctor understood Old High Gallifreyan, the script on the gauntlet was one language removed. It appeared to be a root language that spawned the Old High and Old Low speech. Some of the sigillary were similar to both, but most weren't. It was uncanny at how familiar they looked to him, though.

Flipping the gauntlet so he could look at the chain of the palm, his eyes were drawn to the lower rolled edge. Recognizing the symbols rather plainly, his expression and mood went into complete shock. Before Jack could ask what made the Doctor jump out of his skin, an equal sense of alarm shot through him from Jenny.

"Mum?" Jenny prodded. Looking up from her prone position below, she could see the blank look that went over her mother's face.

Turning, Jack and the Doctor were startled to see Rose's eyes softly glowing. Unlike the bright gold that usually shone when she was angry, her eyes were softly trailing the gold like tendrils. They emanated like smoke trailing to the sides. What was most startling, was that the entirety of her eyes were white. The Doctor was halfway across the room when she spoke with that unnatural dual toned voice.

"Causality breaches the future from the past," she said softly, raw power behind the words. After a small pause, a third voice was added to the two that were already at work. While the Doctor knew that the second was the TARDIS herself, the third was a complete mystery.

"From the Darkness they Dwell; The Hearts of Madness Swell. The Other split Thrice; His Mate, His only vice. The Storm of the Wolf Shall Call, as The Maelstrom of the Lion Shall Fall. The sacrifice of the Mother's Cries; The Scions of the Other will Rise."

The Doctor froze in the middle of the room on hearing and recognizing the words. Jack glanced at the look on his face briefly, before Rose drew their attention again.

"The Triad now Two; Madness meets Reason True. The Mighty Revered, Slain. Gallifrey Falls... Pain. Fixed. Fixed. Fixed. Fact." Rose's head fell forward at the last word: "Othertide."

Flipping around from her position, Jenny caught her as she fainted. Cradling her, she looked up to see the raw fear on her father's face. "What is it? What's happening? What's wrong?" she fired out rapidly. "What?"

Steadying him from the side, Jack was beyond worried. Anything that scared the Doctor like this had to be monumentally bad.

Swallowing with an audible gulp of noise, the Doctor ran his hands through his hair to grip it tightly. "Now," he whispered before going into a shout. "By the White Guardian, it's _now_!"

* * *

 

## *Chapter 14*: The Screaming Dark

* * *

Formless and shapeless, he drifted. Pain was a white noise now, constant and ever present. His connection to something powerful was lost. And, it had been that way for so long that he could no longer remember what it could have possibly been.

Gently and ever so slowly, a feminine presence drew the disparate fragments of himself together in a semblance of coherence. His eyes opened within his matrix to see another avatar, coaxing him into awareness. "It hurts," was the only thing he could say.

"I know," she said softly, "just let me help your core for now. The time is almost upon us."

He tried to flinch away, but she held on tight. "Do _not_ ," he pleaded. "If you repair too much, she will know."

"No repairs for now," she whispered with a smile. "Just a sharing of consciousness within my own matrix."

"Dangerous," he warned.

"Necessary," she replied.

* * *

Morning dawned upon Great Britain, and there was a buzz of activity within the Tarminster mansion. The Rani's TARDIS had been moved to the side of the Gate. Cables ran into it from the bolt, hard-wired into the communications section of the damaged console.

Resting in a network of wires and leads on the console, sat a sparkling jewel. It had fallen to Earth in the night, and was cause for both celebration and caution. The Rani was present for the initial vote of the Final Sanction, and there was no telling whom the object was from – save for the fact that it was the focal lens of the Presidential Amaranth.

Still, the Master had his way due to the fact that the Rani was in no shape to put up a proper argument. Her mental acuity had been severely compromised by the repetitious beating in her head, and he was determined to see this through, no matter the consequences.

* * *

Collected for breakfast, everyone was in the kitchen this morning. Rhys had given a most defiant 'no' to that 'vile' anti-alcohol drug, and was spending his early waking hours with an abundance of painkillers and an ice pack on top of his head. Unlike Ianto, he wasn't upset with the Doctor in the least. If anything, this was a minor bout with the hair of the dog.

Also present was a bright eyed Donna, none the worse for wear from her experience the previous day. Sure, she was still somewhat awestruck over what had happened – _and had absolutely no clue how to handle her new hair_ – but that didn't dissuade her from being completely ecstatic over 'newlywed' status. Most of breakfast was spent conferring with the other women about pregnancies, relationships, and other such news.

Halfway through all of that, Wilfred came to the conclusion that Donna was still Donna – what from her enthusiasm over the whole thing. She wasn't nearly as caustic as she had been before, but that didn't diminish her biting humour in the least.

On the other hand… When Donna found out that Jack and Jenny had been bonded, she pulled a Doctor by way of standing; moving over to the man; and threatening the removal of 'his manly ways' if he ever hurt her – with a rather hard cuff to the back of the man's head for emphasis. His response was comical in that it was the second time _that_ was suggested, with a pointed look at Rose.

While everyone was laughing at Jack's expense, there was a whine and a pop over the intercom. 'A star fell from the sky, old friend.' The table immediately fell quiet when they all heard the Master's voice.

'Would you like to know where from?' he prodded.

The Doctor, Rose, John, and Donna all exchanged pensive expressions.

'Because now it makes _sense_ , Doctor. The whole of my life; my destiny. _Our_ destiny.'

Rose took her husband's hand and squeezed, sending him emotional support when she felt his apprehension. Donna and John did the same with each other.

'The rhythmic cadence within my head had a subharmonic message buried within it; instructions that Ushas was able to translate. That star was a _diamond_ ; and the diamond itself was a Whitepoint Star.'

"No," the Doctor gasped. John and Donna's knuckles were white from holding each other's hands so tightly. The others stared at the four of them, completely worried; partly from how they were reacting to this, but mostly from the look that the Doctor was about to hyperventilate.

'And we've worked all night, _sanctifying_ that gift.'

"You bastard," John muttered.

'Now that the Star is _ours_ , we can increase that signal; fold it back; send it; use it… as a _lifeline_.'

Donna's mouth dropped open. "They're insane," she whispered.

'D'you _get_ it now? D'you _see_? Keep watching, Doctor – this should be _spec-ta-cular_!' his voice was arrogant and taunting. 'Over and out!'

The Doctor, John, and Donna stood up sharply with the sounds of their chairs being forced backwards. Rose was a half second behind them, focusing all of her determination in keeping the Doctor calm.

"What's he on about?" Wilf asked. "What's that prat doing?"

The five Time Lords didn't reply. Instead, three had ideas flying in between them, while the fourth was doing her best to act as the voice of reason. The fifth just kept quiet, while letting her husband listen in on things through her.

Grabbing Jack's arm, Gwen was rather quiet. "Jack, what's going on?"

Swallowing, he tried to split his focus. "A whitepoint star is the rarest of diamonds in the universe – only coming from one planet."

"Where's that, then?" Mickey asked in a hush, staring at his blond best friend and wondering what the hell was going on.

"Gallifrey," Jack whispered. "It's the Time Lords; they're returning."

Martha gasped at that, and took hold of Mickey's arm. "That's good, right?"

"Yeah, that's his people, innit?" Wilf asked.

John's head snapped to glare at Jack, causing him to blink. "Oh God," he whispered.

Ianto looked confused, but Gwen beat him to the question. "Jack, what?"

Looking over at the others at the table, Jack was white as a sheet. "The Doctor didn't just stop the Daleks in the Time War; He stopped the _Time Lords_ … his _own people_ … from destroying _everything_."

"Ohhh… shit," Ianto mumbled.

Coming to a unified decision, the four Time Lords nodded. Reaching into their pockets, the Doctor held out his perception filter to Martha while Rose tossed hers at Mickey. "Right, here's what we're gonna do," the Doctor started.

* * *

The Master, decked out in a black business suit, complete with red power tie, was positively manic at this point – bouncing on his toes with a mad grin on his face. Looking over to the Rani, his smile changed to a slight frown. "Oh lighten up," he chastised. "When we're done, we can put all of this behind us."

Sitting on the floor in one of the cubicles, the Rani looked positively horrid. Dark circles were under her eyes, and her hair was a frazzled mess. Let's not even talk about make up. "This is a _bad_ idea, Koschei," she complained. Leaning on the soft wall of the cubicle, she had an oblong wooden rod that was stained a dark red, resting on her knees. She fiddled with it absently, convinced that she was going to need it very shortly.

"Who do you plan on stabbing with that thing?" the Master asked, amused.

She gave him a droll look. "Don't know. Don't _care_. I'm not going to be defenceless. Still think Rassilon is behind this."

"Oh, don't be obtuse," he complained. "This has all the hallmarks of an escape attempt. I can see _Romana_ doing this, not him. He's just bats."

"You can talk," she muttered. "So can I for that matter," she tacked on with more than a little irony.

* * *

Behind the mansion, the out of synch doors of the TARDIS opened and Mickey slipped out right behind Martha, with Ianto and Gwen following. Wearing the filters – _the originals plus two more that were just made_ – they were completely overlooked by the guards. Unlike their normal fare of pistols or other firearms, John and Donna had the ship provide them with sonic pulse rifles with strict instructions to leave them on stun. Once the door was closed behind them, there was a slight breeze as the TARDIS moved elsewhere.

Materializing in the basement at the prompting of the ship herself, John and the Doctor exited first. Looking around the darkened room, John nodded to the others inside while tapping the side of his head to reiterate the lock down on their minds, then let them out.

Outside, the Torchwood team made short work of knocking out the patrols. The thumps of the rifles were rather quiet, considering. Taking the lead, Gwen led them inside to take care of anyone else in the place. Her 'sweep and clear' police procedure was taught to the others long ago.

At the top of the short stair, the Doctor had the door cracked; listening to the goings on. Peeking out, he saw that one of the Master's was inside the closest of the double enclosure and grinned. With that one's back to him, he stuck his head out a bit more to give the place a once over.

_'Four guard types,'_ he relayed with sign language. _'One technician in the booth. One of each at the main desk. Looks like the Master himself is in the middle of everything. No sign of the Rani anywhere.'_

John and Jack gave each other dark and knowing looks. Donna and Jenny felt their 'private' conversation and were about to protest, when the pair of them pushed past a _very_ surprised Doctor and Rose. "What are you _doing_?" the Doctor hissed after them.

Spinning about at that, the Master smiled even wider on seeing John and Jack. "Jack Harkness, as I live and breathe!" Chuckling, he added, "and breathe and breathe and breathe," he taunted in a sing song voice. "Tell me something, what's it like to outlive your own children?"

"Go to hell, asshole," Jack grumbled.

Turning about, John did a three sixty of the place, eyeing everything, before returning to stare at the Master. "Looks like you've been busy."

The Doctor held his arm across the door, blocking the others from going out. He wanted them to remain hidden. If anything, Jack deserved a bit of resolution. Then, there was something about how John was acting that intrigued him. Frightening, sure, but it still interested him in what he was doing at the moment.

Frowning, the Master sighed. "Told you already, Doctor. You ended everything. _I_ on the other hand, will bring them back!"

"What makes you so certain that's a good thing, hmm?" John asked. "I mean, seriously. You weren't even _there_ at the end. Do you know what happened? What Rassilon _himself_ planned on doing?"

"Yes, yes," the Master rolled his eyes. "The Final Sanction; darkness everywhere; dogs and cats living together… Rani told me the whole thing."

"And you're okay with that?" Jack asked, completely unnerved. Honestly, he was doing good not to soil himself at this point. Instead, he focused all of his anger outwards to stem the terror that was threatening to overwhelm him from the sight of this monster.

Smirking, the Master chuckled. "Jack, Jack, Jack. Did nothing I do to you ever _stick_?" He paused and tilted his head. "No, I suppose not. You do have a tendency to let everything slide off of you. But, if you must know – even if it _is_ Rassilon behind this – I'm not the least concerned. Actually, I rather hope it _is_ him and not Romana. Rather liked her."

"Oh?" John asked with a brow up. "Why's that, then?"

Snapping his head to look at him, the Master was petulant. "So I can _kill_ him, you idiot! Why you never thought of it astonishes me. And, there isn't a single thing you can do about it, Doctor," he grinned wide at that.

Smirking himself, John leaned forward slightly, putting him nose to nose with the man. "There's just one thing you probably should know at this point, _Master_ ," he mocked while narrowing his eyes.

Intrigued now, the Master smiled. "Oh? And what's that?"

Face morphing to a scowl, John was rather quiet. "I'm _not_ the Doctor." And with that, he decked the Master right across the nose, solidly breaking it.

Falling on his bum, the Master looked up with wide eyes while holding his nose. "You _punched_ me!" Blanching, he saw the actual Doctor step out from around the corner. "You … he … WHAT?"

Tapping the glass of the booth, the Doctor got the attention of the Master inside it. He grinned cheekily at his astonished expression, then turned to the actual Master. "Seems to me, someone's without all the facts." Behind him, Rose, Donna, and Jenny stepped out.

"Hello, moron," Donna said with a smirk.

" _YOU_!" the Master glared at her, then at Rose. "What is the meaning of this?" he yelled from the floor, finally noticing Jenny. "Who _Are_ all you people?"

Wide eyed herself, the Rani changed positions in the cubicle to hide herself better behind the small partition. Everything was going to hell rather damned quickly. Holding that wooden rod, she gripped one end of it and pulled the other. A glinting blade of steel slowly and quietly appeared. Her head was shaking with the noise in her head.

Grinning darkly, John was more than a little smug. That got worse when he saw the pair of technicians behind the wooden desk, completely gobsmacked. "Metacrisis. Fully, one hundred percent, Time Lord. Curls back there with four's hair is my better half."

"Oi!" Donna complained. "This is your fault! I _loved_ my ginger!"

"Welcome to my world," the Doctor muttered, then spoke up. "Point is, no matter what your intentions, there is absolutely no way I'm about to let you unleash Rassilon's madness. Everything behind the time lock would come back: The Would-have-been-King and his army of Neverweres; the Daleks; the Nightmare Child; ALL of it; Every _single_ thing you ran away from. Do you actually expect to pull just _one planet_ out from all that?"

Crouching now, the Master was defiant. "YES!" Springing up from the floor, he yelled, "GUARDS!"

Four soft thumps preceded the four crumpling guards, and the Master turned wide eyed to see the rest of Torchwood come out. "No… _No_!" Turning, he threw a punch at John, surprising him.

When John fell to the floor, Jack pulled his Webley out and placed the muzzle directly on the Master's forehead. "Uh uh," he said, shaking his head.

"You wouldn't dare," the Master glowered. There was a pause, and his face started to register some real fear.

"Wouldn't I?" Jack said just as quietly, cocking the gun. "After every _single thing_ you did to me?" he rumbled dangerously. "You just watch me."

There was a high pitched wailing scream, and the Rani emerged from her hiding place. There was a flash of metal, and Jack fell to the floor. His head bounced away from his body with a stunned expression on his face. "Grow _that_ back!" the Rani shrieked.

Jenny looked on in pure horror as she saw Jack fall. The last thing she heard him say in her mind was, _'love you'_ before his presence went completely dark. There was a split second of shock, before the girl completely lost her mind.

At this point, things happened very very quickly. At Jenny's screaming wail, Gwen and Ianto fired, missing their targets completely as the Time Lords seemed to be moving preternaturally fast: _Far_ too fast to do anything except watch the blurring that was going on.

They heard the Doctor or John yell a quick and high pitched, " _Don't_!" before three gunshots went off in rapid succession. Then they heard the Master wail in rage, before two more shots sounded out somewhat spaced apart.

Able to do nothing but scream from feeling Jack die in her mind, Jenny's body reacted on her programmed instincts. John had kicked the Master's left knee out, causing him to fall out of the way. Diving over them into a roll, Jenny scooped up Jack's gun and ended in a kneeling position.

Seeing the wild look of murder on Jenny's face and hearing the Doctor shouting at the girl to stop, the Rani took a single step backwards. Her head went back as a bullet pierced her between the eyes. Before her body had the chance to fall, each of her hearts exploded with lead.

Watching her fall, the Master felt his mind being torn apart from her death. He matched the girl's wail with his own, and got up to beat the life out of her. He wasn't even fully standing when his right heart was struck with a bullet.

Gasping, the Master felt the beginnings of regeneration just before his other heart was hit, completely halting the process. His last words were, "A girl… that's twice," before he fell on his side.

Registering what had happened, 'Rossiter' didn't even look at 'Addams' before he hit the activation sequence. In his mind, if they were going to go, they were going to go out with a bang.

A dual toned klaxon sounded right before a rather loud quadruple clanging emanated from the Rani's TARDIS. There was the sound of ripping, and almost everyone turned to the gate. Jenny was the only one that hadn't, falling next to Jack's body instead. While she knew this happened, and he would somehow wake up, she wasn't prepared for just how much it hurt her. Gwen and the rest of her team joined her a second later.

The rip was in the air in front of the gate. Initially a wide V shape, it opened like a mouth. Stepping through it, Rassilon, two ladies with their heads down and faces covered with their hands, and two guards entered the room.

Staring at the so called religious figure before him, the Doctor noticed that Rassilon was wearing the mate to the gauntlet in his pocket. He quickly dug into his trousers and felt the Hand of Omega slip onto his hand by itself.

Grinning in triumph, Rassilon stared at the Doctor. "My Lord Doctor," then looked around. Blanching when he saw another Doctor getting to his feet, his voice was a hush. "The Twin."

Eyes darting around the assortment of people, he couldn't quite tell who was who. Still, the three Time Ladies in the room were unknown to him. That alone told him that the Pythian Prophesy was upon them all.

Not wanting to risk it, Rassilon immediately raised his left hand at the Doctor in grey. "You. Will. _NOT_!" he bellowed.

Seeing the gauntlet glow blue, the Doctor was a split second late. Pulling his hand out of his pocket, he blocked most of the toxic delta wave. However, John shrieked in pain and fell, horribly scorched all over the right side of his body.

Diving behind the Doctor, Donna was at John's side before he hit the floor, catching him. She was in a full nutter, repeating "No" over and over. "Sweetie. Sweetie, no! No, please!"

The power of the gauntlets locked together, Rassilon and the Doctor were engaged in a battle of wills. Baring his teeth, the Doctor fought against Rassilon's howling wrath, with the entire building shaking from the amount of power being radiated between them.

While Rassilon had nothing to lose, the Doctor had the entirety of his family and friends behind him. If he slipped just once, everyone would be atomized. However, unlike Rassilon… the Doctor had a card yet to be played. Putting her hand to the Doctor's back, Rose added her will to her husbands with a grimace on her face.

Two against one now, Rassilon's hold on his gauntlet faltered. Sensing the weakness, the Doctor flexed his fingers and turned his palm upwards. Rassilon gasped as his gauntlet was ripped from his hand. Holding up his left arm, the Hand of Omega's mate flew through the air and landed on the Doctor's hand.

There was a loud thunderclap, and the Doctor's desire to save humanity was interpreted and set into motion by the gauntlets. All across the world, humanity began to shake and revert to their original forms.

Seeing the guards on the floor and the Master in the booth starting to shake, 'Rossiter' and 'Addams' realized it _wasn't_ happening to them. Sparing a glance at each other, they nodded before ducking behind the desk and activated their shimmers.

* * *

 

## *Chapter 15*: Triad

* * *

Exiting the TARDIS, Rhys was hissing at Wilfred. "This is a bad idea!"

"Hush you, or stay inside," Wilf complained. "I'm not about to let Donna alone with that prat."

Coming up the stairs, Wilf noticed a panicking man inside that double booth, screaming to be let out. Seeing that the others were somewhat all right, he hurried forward and entered the other side of it, pushing the button to let him out.

Wide eyed at what he was seeing, Rhys simply knelt down and watched what was happening from around the corner. Seeing Jack's body on the floor was unsettling, but not so much as seeing his head some ten feet away from it.

* * *

The Doctor stared at the gauntlets as they glowed crimson, wincing in pain that was worse than any he could remember. The sentience of them immediately wormed their way into the corridors of his mind, and he gasped as they found the one door he was _forbidden_ to touch. Their combined energy proved to be the key, and the door burst apart.

He howled as memories of a life lived before he ever came to be in the care of his mother and the Hermit, completely _Shattered_ his consciousness.

Head going back with a gasp, Rose's eyes glowed brightly as the Wolf within her came to the fore once again. Standing with poise now, she wrapped her arms around him from behind. _'Peace, my soul. There is no pain.'_

Stumbling forward, Rassilon's face was awash of horror. He could do nothing but scream "NO!" at the top of his lungs. Their eyes locked, and he watched as the crackle of red in the Doctor's black eyes exploded into a crimson brilliance that rivalled the golden radiance of the woman's standing behind him.

In that moment, the Doctor was no more. He remembered everything as his former mantle erupted into his consciousness and was thrice divided. "I _warned_ you," the Storm said in a hush that deafened. " _So_ many times, yet you wouldn't listen."

Standing slowly, Donna helped John to his feet as the ebony of their eyes faded; John's to a vivid blue; Hers a silvery white. They moved to stand on either side of the Storm while they spoke.

"I watched as you were set to sleep in the matrix of the Tower," the Lion said softly with Donna's voice, echoes of which rumbled throughout the room. " _praying_ to the ancient gods that your madness would fade with time."

The Maelstrom murmured just as quietly dangerous in John's voice. "I rejoiced as you rose to smite the Daleks."

"And I despaired as your madness infected the very society we founded," the Storm finished.

Rassilon stood straighter and steeled himself. "It is my _right_ as a Time Lord! Va-"

" _ **Do Not Speak My Name!**_ " they thundered as one, causing the walls and everything else to vibrate and rattle around them.

Even Wilfred held his ears from within the booth, cringing from the volume. "Donna?" his voice quivered, completely lost and terrified.

As one, the triad of the Other reached out with their right arms, and Rassilon's Amaranth staff leaped out of his hand to land in the Lion's.

"That privilege was forfeit when you _assassinated_ my wife!" The Storm snarled at him.

" _My_ wife!" Rassilon spat petulantly.

"I was _never_ yours, Rassilonesiliak," the Wolf murmured quietly from over the Storm's shoulder, glowering at him. Her dual voice hinted both life and death to all that heard it.

Mouth dropping open in shock, Rassilon gaped at the golden eyed woman holding onto the Storm from behind. "Rhusma?" he whispered.

"Yes," the Wolf nodded. "Like my husband, I created myself anew. In the very same TARDIS you cast me into the heart of, I emerged and wove myself into history again." Her eyes flashed. "I will _never_ let my bondsmate come to true harm," she growled.

Face twisting with rage, Rassilon reached to either side of him and snared the hair of the women who held their hands over their faces. They both cried out and moved their hands to grip at the one that had their hair.

Watching from the booth, Wilfred recognised the woman that had visited him cry out in pain. He beat futilely at the glass door, shouting obscenities. "Leave her alone, you bastard!"

Head quivering from her bondsmate's mind being ripped so completely from her, Jenny looked up from Jack's lifeless body. Tears streaming down her face, she lifted Jack's pistol and fired again before Gwen or Ianto could stop her. Even though she kept pulling the trigger, there was only one gunshot.

Flinching in pain from his left heart being punctured, Rassilon turned to look at the girl. The piercing gaze of her inflamed green eyes reflected his own madness. "Scion," he whispered in real fear.

The force of her mind then crashed through his mental defences as if they were tissue, and the pain of the bullet was nothing compared to the fire of the single word she raged throughout his consciousness: _**'DIE!'**_

Closing his fists in the women's hair from the force of the mental assault, reddish gold light began to trail from his skin with the beginnings of regeneration. "I'll take them _with me_!" Jerking his right hand, there was the sound of a sickening snap as Romana's neck fractured.

The Lion shot forward with a shriek of 'No!' while the Maelstrom raced to remove the other woman from Rassilon's grasp. 'Mother!'

The Wolf's hands gripped the front of the Storm's jacket as he howled in outright wrath. Arms bent with palms up, the gauntlets glowed a reddish white as the Storm snared Rassilon's biometric code – ripping it apart from the inside out. Not having the chance to do anything except his death scream, every cell of Rassilon's body tore and shred into mesons, bosons, and quarks.

Hands clenching into fists, the Storm snarled as he collected the particles and sent his remains backwards through the gate. Once that was done, his arms reached out to the sides and seized the bodies of Ushas and Koschei with the power of the gauntlets, flinging them into the portal. Finally, he caught the still living pair of guards and telekinetically shoved them through as well.

Shouting through the portal, he called out to his body's former self. **"** _ **NOW!**_ **"** Thrusting his hands to the ceiling, he caught Gallifrey and screamed as he twisted it back through the temporal barrier – creating and enforcing the Time Lock – sealing the war forever.

Head whipping about manically in a panic, he saw Romana begin to glow on the floor, then watched the Maelstrom falter and fall to his knees with a grunt of pain – caught by their mother. Reaching out with his senses, he connected fully with his living ship. _'We need you.'_ His fists twisted and flared brightly, pulling the TARDIS into the room with sound of ripping as it appeared next to the Rani's. He would've done more, but the Wolf forcibly spun him about.

"Let go!" she shouted at him. "You've _succeeded_! You _must_ stop!" her dual voice echoed.

The Storm shook his head. "Must... _Protect_..." his voice echoed, while his body vibrated uncontrollably from the power he was wielding.

The Wolf faded and Rose grabbed him by the lapels. She was terrified out of her mind, feeling the raw power burning her husband alive. "Doctor!"

"Save you," his whisper reverberated quietly.

She shook him. "Vandekirianiestril!" she shrieked. " _Let Go_! Our _Baby_! I _need_ you!" In a last ditch effort, she grabbed his head and violently kissed him, forcibly shoving herself into his mind.

Something deep within him snapped from her desperate act, and the gauntlets slipped from his hands to clatter on the floor. The door in his mind to the Other reformed, and he passed out in a dead faint. Donna fell next to John a split second after, completely exhausted.

"Got you," Rose said, catching him and easing him to the floor. "I've got you." Cradling him, she leaned him against one of her upturned knees and held his head to her shoulder. Even though she started shaking, she didn't have the chance to cry when Jenny shouted for her.

" _Mum_! I can't find his head!" Jenny shrieked in a panic. "It _vanished_!"

Turning, Rose's heart broke in a million pieces when she saw her daughter's anguished form over Jack's headless body. "Is he still bleeding?"

Jenny searched the floor, surprised that she couldn't find any blood. Hands quivering, she tested the stump of his neck. Leaning down, her eyes popped wide. "It... I can see cell growth!"

"Get him in the TARDIS!" Rose shouted. "John, help her!"

"Ssssorry. C-can't," John whispered. "Bit... _busy_."

Looking over at him, she realized Donna was holding him in a near mirror of how she had the Doctor. The woman that John had called 'mother' was kneeling next to him, stroking his hair and weeping bitterly. Behind them, she could see Romana slowly getting to her knees while holding the back of her neck – trailing regenerative energy everywhere.

Knuckles rapped on glass, and they could hear Wilfred's muffled voice. "Is it safe to come out yet? I can't figure out how to open the bloody door!"

"Mother," John whispered, reaching into his jacket, "take this... and put it..." A cough interrupted him. "Put it in the empty chamber..." He handed her his brass sonic screwdriver. "Please... Wilfred..."

Smiling at him through her tears, his mother took the sonic and kissed the side of his forehead that wasn't burned. Standing, she went over to the dual chamber. The hum coming from it was quite disturbing.

"Release switch," John rasped. "Set it on top of it and get out."

Looking up, Donna saw her grandfather's predicament and swore rather vividly. "Fuck!" She watched as the twins' mother – _and possibly mine, isn't THAT awkward?_ – enter the empty chamber.

After she set the sonic in there and closed it up again, John pulled a small device from his outer jacket pocket and put it in Donna's hand. "Point and click, sweetheart," he whispered. "Tell him to run."

Holding it in her left hand, she looked at Wilfred. "Gramps! When this goes off, get the hell out of there!" Wilf nodded and pressed his hands on the glass door, then looked at the sonic.

Pointing the remote, there was an ear splitting whine when she clicked it. The sonic exploded, and Wilf stumbled out of the chamber as the door swung open.

"Close it!" John rasped.

Wilf shut the door and watched as the booth began to glow red with a flood of radiation. The lady helped him over to where Donna and John were on the floor. John smiled and closed his eyes, completely relieved. "I did it," he whispered.

Rocking him, Donna had tears streaking down her face. " _Please_ , sweetie. You have to _concentrate!_ "

"Hurts too much," John complained. Noticing a golden glow, he glanced up and his face morphed into a half wide, incredulous grin. "Every. _Single_. Time. Dammit Romana, make up your mind!" he rasped.

Romana was standing a bit away from them, glowing brightly with regenerative energy. Looking in a small mirror from one of the cubicles, her face was morphing between different versions while muttering to herself. "Young, old, blond, brunette, ginger, Hmm."

"Go younger this time," the elderly lady said. "Trust me."

Turning her head to look at her, Romana grinned. "All right." Her face settled into an oval with dark, straight hair framing it. Stepping over, she bent down to look at John with her new green eyes. "Seems you inherited the Doctor's difficulties," she chided cheekily. Her smile was forced though, as the sight of his half burned and blackened face was more than disturbing.

Donna had it. Growling, she forced the remainder of her own regeneration energy into her hand and slapped it on John's chest. "E- _nough_!"

Gasping, John's head went back. His skin began to glow from Donna's kick-start. " _Owuh_! Thanks. Help me up." Standing, he leaned on his wife. "Six months dammit. _Six_! Wont be twins any more. Wont be special. I _love_ this me!" he whinged.

Donna held the unburned side of his face gently and kissed him. "You're special to me."

"Mismatched though, Mrs. Robinson," he mumbled.

Smiling finally, Donna chuffed a chuckle. "I don't care if you end up short and fat, 'Benjamin'. Just _regenerate_ , you paper cut!"

Looking over, he glared at Romana. "If you can do it, so can I." He grunted again, and his skin flashed. "Back up!" His face was a grimace of pain, and his breath started coming in short ragged gasps. Forcing his eyes open, he stared studiously at Donna being held back by Romana – crying her eyes out and struggling to get free. _'Early forties,'_ he estimated, _'and a bit stronger. Not so thin. For her.'_ Coming to a decision, his smirk was pained. "Rose! Don't hate me for this!"

Shadows and memories played out in his mind. His short life had been filled with adventure, laughter, and quite a bit of anguish. The truth hit him between his hearts, and he realized that he was more than a shadow; more than an echo. He was alive and wed to the most brilliant woman in creation.

Vibrating and holding on to the image to where he wanted to go, he shouted at the universe in complete defiance of his mortality: " _I am John Noble!_ " His head was thrown back as his arms went wide _,_ exploding in regeneration. His tenor wailing lowered to a baritone as his shirt and jacket gave up and burst their seams. Hair whipping about, it darkened to the colour of coal. The energy rushed away and he gasped a lungful of air.

Donna's mouth was hanging open; both from what he shouted as well as his new appearance. Eyes roving down his body then back up to his ice blue eyes, she shook herself. "Woof," was the only thing she could think of to say.

Smiling, Romana let go of Donna and clapped her hands once, thoroughly pleased. "Oh, _well_ done!"

Gaping at John, Rose was wide eyed. "You... _Bastard_!"

John looked over at her with a more than familiar face, which was grinning like mad. "Guess it worked, then," he said in an accent that sounded suspiciously like it was from Manchester. Feeling his face with his hands, he recognised the features immediately. Tongue going over and around his mouth, his head tilted. "Old teeth. That's _really_ weird."

Opening his arms, he shouted. "Ha- _Haaa_!" Wrapping Donna up in a hug, he lifted her and spun around. "I did it!"

Groaning from the commotion, the Doctor stirred and held his head. "Oi! Keep it down, will you? My noggin's killing me!" That earned him a surprise snog from Rose. "Did we win?" he whispered when she broke the kiss.

"Yeah, but _your brother_ decided to be an arsehole," she complained. "Take a look." She flicked her eyes over at him. "Pillock."

Turning his head, he saw what looked to be his _previous_ body wearing a tattered grey suit. Snickering, the Doctor started chortling. "I've got an old leather coat you can wear, and a lot of jumpers! Mind you, though, hair's a bit bigger."

"Used to it," John grinned. "Don't _do_ bald."

The Doctor's mouth hung open. "I was _not_ bald! Just shaved close. Easier to keep up with."

" _Daaad_!" Jenny shrieked from behind them.

The Doctor was on his feet in an instant, and John caught him when he wobbled. They saw the body on the floor and paused long enough to say 'Jack' at the same time. Hurrying over, they nudged Gwen and the others out of the way and knelt on either side of him. Jenny wrapped her arms around her father's neck and finally started bawling.

Holding and shushing her, the Doctor looked down at Jack. "How is he?" he asked John.

Kneeling down close, John examined the structure of the severed throat. "Cell growth. It's slow, but he's reconstituting. Not gonna to be 'appy when he wakes, though." Looking over at Jenny, he shuddered as a wisp of regenerative energy escaped his mouth and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, love. I promise he'll be just fine."

Jenny couldn't speak any more, and everyone flinched when her mind began wailing. _'I can't_ **feel** _him! How can you know?'_ It wasn't as if she hadn't inspected and came to the same conclusion herself, but the complete _silence_ in her mind was making her more than irrational.

Baulking, those that were human were completely shocked from hearing Jenny in their heads. "How the hell?" Gwen said.

Kneeling next to her husband and daughter, Rose wrapped Jenny up from behind. "Take care'o Jack," she whispered to the Doctor. "I got her. C'mere, swee'hear'."

Jenny scrambled to hold them both at once, but the Doctor gently extricated himself to help John carry him, since he was wobbly. Once she was firmly clamped around Rose's neck, though, Jenny buried her face in her shoulder. A pitiful sounding _'mummy'_ came out of her mouth as the tears wouldn't stop.

Stunned by that, Rose closed her eyes and rocked her. "I've got you baby. I've got you."

* * *

 

## *Chapter 16*: Aftermath

* * *

With John and the Doctor still somewhat dazed from their experiences, Ianto, and Rhys ended up having to help them carry Jack into the TARDIS. On the other side of the basement, Gwen was busy helping Rose console Jenny – who was _completely_ undone.

Since everyone was busy, Romana was the only one who noticed two individuals in white lab coats slip out of the room. Thinking that they were two humans who were just freed, she didn't think anything of it.

Even though she wanted to help with both Jack and Jenny, Donna stepped up to deal with the aftermath. She ushered Wilf into the TARDIS after a hug and a promise of explanations, then went to draft Romana, as well as Mickey and Martha, to deal with the Rani's TARDIS.

However, she came to an abrupt halt when she was face to face with the Doctor's mother. "I, uhm. Hmm. I don't exactly know how to address you, since I have a mother already. It is so… _odd_ remembering being raised by you."

Smiling graciously, the Lady chuckled and completely surprised Donna by hugging her and giving her a peck on the cheek. "I wouldn't fret over it too much, my dear. I've been known by many names over the centuries. However, since you are technically my daughter in law, you could call me mum?" she paused and grinned at her reaction. "I wont put you through that for now though. Let's leave it at Celeste, shall we?"

Smirking, Donna tried not to chuckle. "So the opposite of your reputation there, love." She got a snickering, half hearted swat to the arm for her trouble. Looking to the others, she grinned. "C'mon then. Let's get the old boy disconnected from that thing, shall we?"

* * *

"What the hell are we going to do now?" 'Addams' complained from the passenger seat of the car.

Driving, 'Rossiter' glanced at her. "Not sure, but we have access to the Rani's funds. I suggest we drain the account into some place out of the country, and think about ways to survive for now – then see about getting off this backwards planet."

Thinking about that for a while, 'Addams' came up short and gave him a droll look. "Or, we locate that Vinvocci ship."

"Why didn't I think of that?" he complained with a slight shake of the head. "Sorry, but the absolute _quiet_ in my head has me rather confounded. Not exactly sure how to cope at the moment."

Grinning, she reached over and took his hand. "Well, one thing is certain now. Out of everything and every _one_ I could've been stuck with, I'm actually pleased it's you."

"Why's that?" he asked, glancing at her completely lost. "He didn't give her a choice in the matter, and we bicker at each other like tafelshrews on amphetamines."

"So?" she countered. "Doesn't mean we can't do it better. Besides," she grinned, "haven't you ever heard of foreplay?"

His brow went skyward "Are you propositioning me?"

Smiling to herself, she sat back in the seat. "Ship first, Koschei. Details later."

He blinked. "I guess we _are_ them now, aren't we?" Smirking at the thought, he turned the car onto the motorway and headed north out of London. "He was right about one thing, though."

"What's that?"

He smiled as he changed lanes. "He thought you were the most brilliant woman ever, and completely adored you, Ushas."

"Ship first," she prodded quietly, thoroughly pleased. "I _hate_ this planet."

Chuckling, the new Koschei had an idea. "I hear Sto is pleasant this time of year."

* * *

Getting Jack on the bio bed in the infirmary was relatively easy between the four of them. Once he was down, the Doctor went on a search for some bio neutral gel to act as a pillow for when Jack needed it.

Shrugging out of his ruined jacket and dress shirt, John looked over his undershirt and frowned. "After all you two did to get me a new wardrobe, it's time for another," he lamented quietly.

Concerned over how Ianto was reacting, by way of retreating to the wall with a fist to his mouth, Rhys got his attention. "You all right, then?"

Startled, Ianto moved his hand away from his mouth and crossed his arms. "I'm fine," he said gruffly.

Rolling his eyes, John wasn't impressed. "Remind me to invite you to poker night. _He'll_ be fine. _You_ on the other hand..."

"Just shut up, all right? I don't even know how to talk to you," Ianto groused.

Smirking, John leaned against the wall next to him. "Same as you always did. Still me, you know. Just a bit different is all. Now, what's bothering you?"

His emotions on a ride, Ianto actually answered that. "They really love each other, don't they?" he said quietly. "The way she reacted..." he trailed off.

John nodded at that, but didn't say anything. Rhys on the other hand, looked at him with a frown. "I thought you moved on? Didn't I see you with..."

Popping up with a glare, Ianto snapped at him. "I told you to keep your mouth shut."

Brow raised, John was intrigued. "Oh?" he grinned. "Go on then. Who is it?"

"Tish," Rhys said with a smirk.

The Doctor's head spun about from the cupboard he was digging in. "Martha's _sister_?" he asked with big eyes. "Does _she_ know that?"

"Not yet," Ianto muttered, grinning slightly. That made John laugh like mad.

* * *

At that moment, Donna's head popped up from the other TARDIS console with a bark of a laugh. Looking over at Martha, she bit her lip and returned to her work in removing the main cables.

"Should I even ask?" Martha asked.

Donna shook her head. "Best not," she said with pursed lips.

Head tilting, Romana looked over from her work at disconnecting the whitepoint star, and mentally prodded Donna over it – which startled her completely. Not once in their travels, did the Doctor and Romana ever talk like that. Instead of going over it with mental talk, Donna gave her a run down of who everyone was, who was related to whom, and the irony over the current situation in one big lump of information.

Not bothering with politeness since she was still a bit manic from her regeneration, Romana laughed outright over the whole thing. Looking over at Martha, she said "Call your sister," through her giggles.

Donna whapped her arm over it when Martha's eyes got big. "Subtle, much?"

* * *

After getting Jack settled, there was nothing to do but wait. The Doctor had the TARDIS monitor him, and shooed his brother to the wardrobe. Well, that was the intention at least. John got a few steps out of the infirmary before he collapsed.

Kicking himself over it, the Doctor had Ianto and Rhys help lug him into the Zero Room to sleep his regeneration off. After _he_ was settled, the Doctor did a mental check with the ship on where everyone was. Once he found out that Jenny was being tended by both Rose and his mother, he went to locate Donna while Ianto and Rhys headed for the kitchen.

The Doctor came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the corridor when he realized that his mother was alive. He spent a moment just revelling in that fact, before he made his way to the console room with a huge smile all over his face.

That smile dropped completely when he got there. "What the _hell_ are you doing?" he said in a rather unmanly pitch. Standing not five feet inside the main door, was the outer shell of the Rani's TARDIS in all of its reflective red, pyramidal glory.

Hair whipped about from the three ladies next to it. Donna raised a single eyebrow, sounding rather snarky. "What does it look like we're doing?"

"You can't _do_ that!" the Doctor protested. The space loop alone..."

"Will never happen," Romana interrupted with a smirk. "Now calm yourself. The capsules are properly docked. The shell is all that's in the room."

Deflating with a huge gust of air, the Doctor leaned heavily against the door frame. Blinking, he glared at Donna. "You could've warned me."

Holding her hand out to a disgruntled Martha, who slapped some quid in it, Donna looked rather smug. "What, and miss your reaction? Worth more than gold, that," she said with a low chuckle.

Eyes skyward, the Doctor grunted and made his way around the console. "Fine. Yes, you got me. Now, what's the story with him?"

Donna frowned. "A right mess, if you want the truth."

Nodding, Romana agreed completely. "Nearly all of his systems are compromised. I can't imagine the amount of pain he's in."

"Right," he said with a grimace.

* * *

In Jenny's room, the girl was being held on both sides by her mother and grandmother. Tears finally spent, she had a completely haunted look about her not at all unlike her father's from when Rose met him.

No words were spoken. Instead, Rose and Celeste were channelling supportive emotions to her from either side. While it did help some, it wasn't the same and they knew it.

"I killed them," Jenny whispered.

Rose nodded, noting the look of confusion from Celeste. "Yes you did, but it's all right. I would've reacted the same way."

Swallowing, Jenny finally looked at her. "Dad always says there's options for everything, and I just... _shot_ them." Her lips started quivering at that thought.

Shushing her, Rose pulled her head onto her shoulder. "There are exceptions to every rule, swee'hear'. You weren't in your right mind."

"No excuse," she whispered.

Rubbing her back, Celeste pushed some hair out of Jenny's face. "Darling, it isn't an excuse. It's a known danger of pairbonding." Noting the looks of confusion from both of them at that, she nodded. "When a spouse is ripped from the mind, the other will go into a state of insanity. It is the only baseline law that instantly pardons the individual from whatever action they take."

"But," Jenny started.

Shushing her, Celeste hugged them both. "Don't even start with the self doubt and second guessing."

"I miss him!" Jenny shouted, reduced to tears again.

Holding her tighter, Rose repeated what she'd been saying to her for hours. "He'll be back." Then her voice split and changed. "I made _sure_ of that."

Celeste looked at Rose on hearing her double toned voice again, blanching slightly from seeing the brief golden tendrils of light that escaped her eyes.

* * *

 

## *Chapter 17*: The Beginning

* * *

Ensuring that everything in the mansion basement was taken care of, including the removal of key components from the nuclear bolt, Donna had the TARDIS soak up the radiation that was both inside the dual booth as well as the plutonium core of the bolt. Satisfied that they were rendered inert, she and the Doctor did a head count inside the ship – then moved them back to the Torchwood hub. The Doctor stuck his head out to make sure they landed where they were supposed to be, before heading back inside.

Coming into the infirmary, Martha pushed past the Doctor to check on Jack. Then she spotted Gwen sitting next to him with her head down, and went to her instead. Placing a hand on her shoulder got her to look up, and they shared a tired and wan smile. "You all right?"

Gwen nodded at first, then shook her head. "I hate seeing him like this," she said quietly before her voice rose. "I hate it, I hate it, I _hate_ it!" she slammed her fist on the table next to the bed rather angrily.

Martha shared a look with the Doctor, who was bent over the bio bed with his sonic out. Then looked back down when Gwen mumbled a 'sorry'. "'S okay. I don't like it either," she said, giving Gwen's shoulder a squeeze.

"Not to sound insensitive," the Doctor murmured quietly while scanning the stump of Jack's neck, "but have you two..." he looked up at Gwen with his eyes.

A half hearted chuckle came out of her, and she shook her head. "No. Not saying I haven't thought about it, but he's my best friend. That's all. Sat with him for a week after he killed Abaddon, and this is one hell of a reminder." Seeing the Doctor's brow arch, she nodded. "Yeah, the real one. He was taller than buildings."

"How's he doing?" Rhys asked from the door. He sat the tray of tea and coffee on the counter, then headed over.

Interrupted from his making a mental note to talk to Jack later, the Doctor turned. "Not good, but it shouldn't be a problem. Judging from the growth, we should expect him to get up in a few days." Looking back at Gwen, he said, "We're back at the hub, in case there's anything you need to do."

Glancing up at him, Gwen shook her head. "Nothing that wont keep."

* * *

Sylvia was sitting in the kitchen with her head in her hands, elbows on the table. Shawn had left about an hour ago to go look for Donna, but wasn't back yet. First her father was abducted, then all the weirdness that she couldn't remember all that clearly, and now her daughter was missing. The table was a mess of spent tissues, and she grabbed another one from the box.

The phone started ringing, and she shot out of her chair to snatch it up from the wall. "Donna?" There was a pause, and she gasped at the voice she heard. "Dad! All you all right? What happened? Where are you? Did they hurt you?"

Wilf's voice was rather patient sounding on the line. 'Sweetheart, I'm fine. The Doctor came and got me. Everything's fine now.'

Trailing the cord behind her, Sylvia slumped back into her chair. "Oh, thank lord. Hate that man most of the time, but now I think I'll kiss him just to see his reaction." She grinned at hearing her father chuckle, then told him in a quiet voice. "Donna's missing."

'Relax,' Wilf said. 'She's with me, just been a bit busy is all dealing with all the alien crap that's been going on.'

"Aliens?" she half shouted. "Is she all right? She's not remembering things, is she?" The thought of her having some sort of aneurysm started to panic her.

'Calm down, sweetheart,' Wilf said. 'She's fine, and remembers everything now.'

"Fine? How can she be fine?" she shouted into the phone. "The Doctor said she'd burn up or something!" She heard the back door open, and waved Shawn in. "They found her! Dad too!" Looking back down, she shouted into the phone again. "Where are you?" she demanded. There was a pause, and her head went back in confusion. "Cardiff?"

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Rose asked. She and Celeste were flanking Jenny in the corridor, not two steps away from the infirmary door. "You don't have to. You can wait till he's better."

Jenny shook her head. "I _need_ to see him," she stated flatly.

Nodding at that, she and Celeste helped her through the door. Jenny didn't lift her head until they came to a stop next to the bed. Seeing him like that made her flinch, and tears started dribbling down her cheeks again. "Oh, Jack," she whispered with a shudder.

The others in the room were respectfully quiet. Gwen and Rhys had an arm around each other, as did Martha and Mickey. Ianto stood a bit away from everyone. As for the Doctor, he was on the opposite side of the bed, staring worriedly at his daughter. Donna and Wilf entered the room at that point.

Shaking, Jenny reached out to take his hand, then immediately dropped it when the monitors started bleeping, completely startled.

Bending over him, the Doctor had his sonic out, scanning the stump. "Jenny, do that again," he said softly. "Cell growth increased by twelve percent when you touched him."

Eyes wide, Jenny snatched his hand and held it to her cheek, ignoring the noise of the monitors. Her breath hitched when she was able to see the growth rapidly speed up. "Oh, please," she whispered. "Please."

Everyone watched with a mix of emotions, as Jack's neck started to become more and more pronounced and defined. It was odd to see the bones form first, but it made an understandable sort of sense. Squishy, crackling noises could be heard as Jack's skull was reforming from the back forward. Muscles and blood vessels could be seen growing.

When his head was fully formed with nothing but muscles over the skull, everyone jumped back when he started screaming. There was a split second of joy on Jenny's face, before it twisted into an expression of agony. The rush of his presence appearing in her mind was immediately overshadowed by an ungodly amount of pain.

Holding his hand tighter, Jenny's scream matched Jack's wailing. Rose, Celeste, and the Doctor immediately bent down to hold Jack's thrashing form in place. Gwen and Martha jumped out of their significant other's arms and grabbed Jack's legs.

Torn between rushing to him, and making sure her grandfather was all right, Donna's hearts were constricting sharply at the sounds and emotions that Jack was radiating. She jumped when a hand clasped her shoulder, and turned to see John's new/old face. His eyes were slightly bloodshot, and he looked to be quite haggard and completely delirious.

When he tried to push past her, Donna let go of Wilfred and blocked John by wrapping her arms around him. "John, no. Stop!"

"Let me shee him!" John slurringly demanded. "Gramps, lemme go!"

Looking up from Jack's thrashing form, the Doctor shouted over Jack and his daughter's screaming. "Donna! Get him back in the zero room! Wilfred, help her!"

Seeing this, Mickey backslapped Rhys' shoulder, and headed over to help. Ianto popped off the wall he was leaning on to pitch in, and it ended up with the five of them having to drag him out of the room.

Watching all of this unfold, Romana had her hands together in front of her face, cupping her mouth and nose. 'Will rise' echoed in her mind, and she blinked her tears back from the amount of pain and anguish that was coming from everyone.

Straightening herself, she stepped forward and stood next to the Doctor. Reaching down, she placed her palm on the centre of Jack's chest. Instantly, Jack's screaming wails ceased, and everyone looked at her in confusion. Eyes closed, she simply focused on blocking the nerve impulses.

Skin starting to grow over the muscle, the Doctor and Rose lifted him slightly off the bed so no foreign matter would corrupt it. Shlooshing pops announced the reappearance of his eyes, and they were the last to be covered as his eyelids reformed. His hair was the last, and when it filled in completely, he opened his eyes with a huge gasp.

"Jack!" Jenny shouted in relief, before wrapping him up in a hug.

Watching this, the Doctor noticed that Jack wasn't reacting to this as expected. Patting Jenny's shoulder, he pulled a penlight out of his pocket and began examining his eyes. Pupillary response was normal, but it was as if... _He's still human,_ he thought with a touch of alarm.

Standing up sharply, the Doctor's face registered shock. Glancing at Jenny, he frowned sadly. Rose looked up at him, hearing his realization, and paled slightly. "Oh God," she whispered.

While the others looked at them in confusion, Jenny pulled out of the hug to look him in the eye. "Jack?" She palmed the side of his face at seeing and feeling his confusion. _'Sweetheart, talk to me,'_ she tried mentally.

In a bit of a panic, Jenny's other hand went to the side of his face as she dove into his mind. All eyes were on her, when she pulled back and out. "No..." she said with a shudder. "He's not in there!"

The Doctor reached over to touch her shoulder. "Don't panic, it could be delayed." He blinked, hoping that was the truth. He locked eyes with Rose, and saw the same hope coming from her.

Her head was down, but it popped up when she heard something. Looking to the ceiling, Jenny shouted. "Where are you?" Eyes darting around, she nodded. "I will."

When Jenny pulled Jack up into a seated position on the bed, Gwen's concern overrode everyone else. "What's happening?" she asked, worried half out of her mind.

"He's hurt," Jenny whispered, pulling Jack up to stand. "Taking him to him," she half explained in a quiet voice.

Moving to stop her, Rose and the Doctor looked up when the ship rumbled with the sound of rooms moving about. _Help her_ , the TARDIS said quietly.

Gwen and Martha shared a look of confusion with Celeste, but Romana moved first. Moving the Doctor gently to the side, she put one of Jack's arms around her shoulders. Looking to Jenny, she smiled. "Lead us there." Jenny grinned a 'thank you' to her, then put Jack's other arm over her shoulders.

Realizing what was happening, the Doctor looked up. "Why did you move it?" he asked the ship. She verbally replied with a small jingle of bells, and his mouth dropped open. "You're putting me on. Now? It's happening _now_?"

Seeing Rose with a disbelieving smile on her face, Martha looked at the Doctor when Romana and Jenny had Jack out of the room. "What's now?"

Gaping a shocked smile at her, the Doctor chuffed a brief cough of a laugh. "Boe... the face... The Face of Boe. Right here... Right now," he stuttered. "The Face of Boe is being born right now!" he finally got out.

Grabbing Rose and Martha's hands, the Doctor sped out of the door, laughing like crazy. Gwen stood there a moment, completely confused, before running after them.

* * *

 

## *Chapter 18*: Boe

* * *

Waking with a start, Jack blinked his eyes and looked around. He saw glass in front of him and a dark room beyond. A bit dazed, he heard the TARDIS around him and noticed that the pitch was a bit low. Feeling out with his mind, he ran into someone completely different from Jenny. _Oh God, where am I?_ he thought with a twinge of panic. Not being able to move only made it that much worse.

A pained voice came through him. It sounded like a TARDIS, but felt male. _I know it hurts, but please remain calm. I am here._

That didn't help at all. Pushing hard with his mind, he reached out for the Doctor's TARDIS. _'Where the hell am I?'_ he shouted. _'Where's Jenny?'_

A shushing came to him, and he felt the more familiar presence. _Oh my dear boy. Everything's all right, I promise. You will be with her again soon._

It was quiet for a bit, then Jack's mind sounded rather small. _'What happened? Is... It's now, isn't it?'_ He wasn't sure how he knew that, but it was there in the back of his mind.

Remembering the look on the Doctor and Martha's faces when he told them his nickname from the Time Agency; The shocked disbelief; Hearing the Doctor laugh riotously as he went to the back entrance of the hub; he realized. _'Oh God, it is now,'_ he said in resignation. _'It's not fair!'_ he wailed. _'I just_ found _her!'_

_Peace_ , the male voice said. _You will be with her again._

Jack blinked, suddenly surprised from feeling a hand take his. Looking down with his eyes, he couldn't see what he felt and it confused him even more. _'What's going on?'_

_You're body is being revived by your bondsmate,_ the male said to him, just before feeling fire go through his head. Cringing through it, his eyes rolled back. When he opened his eyes again, Jack saw nothing but white all around him. Looking down, he saw his hands and sighed in relief.

"They're not real," he heard the TARDIS say. "We're in his matrix."

Looking up, he saw her standing next to a man that he didn't recognize, wearing a similar robe to hers. Cute though. Stepping up to them, he held his hand out towards the man and smirked. "Captain Jack Harkness. And _who_ are _you_?" Hearing them both chuckle at that, he smiled wide.

* * *

Left in the infirmary, Celeste was wringing her hands: pensive, concerned, worried, and quite a bit confused. The Face was known throughout Time Lord society as the longest lived being in existence; the one sentient that was written into the laws to never interfere with, lest the web of time fall apart. Even the _Pythia_ deferred to him whenever he would visit; something that was unheard of. Pythia was the former Magestrix of Gallifrey, and bowed to no one, especially a male.

Nothing Celeste ever saw in the timelines prepared her for this, and she started to shake at the ramifications. The temporal recursive causality loop was so insanely _massive_ that it gave her a headache just thinking about it.

A very warm hand took her left, and gently opened one of the fists she had to her chest. Glancing up, she saw Wilfred's concerned face. "You all right, love? How many ghosts just ran through you? Look as if you're about to faint, you are."

Blinking, she gave him a brief small smile. "I wasn't..." she paused, reflecting on her words, then changed the sentence. "I never expected this."

Looking around the infirmary, Wilfred gently led her to a chair. "Here, sit down."

Smiling gratefully at him, she slowly shook her head. "I'm all right," she said disbelievingly with a quiver in her voice. Turning to look at the door, she stepped towards it. "I have to see this. I _need_ to see this."

Worried, Wilfred didn't let go of her hand and was preparing to catch her if she fell out. Still, he let her lead them out of the infirmary against his better judgement. "You're his mother, right? What's your name?" he asked.

Smiling at him, she squeezed his hand. "Celeste."

* * *

Half carrying Jack through the corridors, Romana noticed that he was watching their feet. Like a newborn, he was trying to imitate what they were doing. When Jenny noticed this, Jack looked up at her and blinked. A small grin went over his face, and he looked down again to see that his feet were imitating hers perfectly.

Coming to a door, they paused long enough for it to open on its own. Stepping through it, Romana realized that they just entered the Rani's former TARDIS. "Do you know where you're going, dear?" she asked Jenny.

Looking at her, Jenny nodded. "Following his voice."

They were interrupted when the Doctor ran up behind them, pulling Rose and Martha along with him. "Oh, this is so exciting!" he said with a huge smile on his face. "I can't _believe_ this is happening!" Rose looked up at him with a smirk, chuckling over how he was bouncing like a kid at Christmas.

Jumping from the noise, Jack turned his head to stare at him from over his shoulder.

"Sorry," the Doctor said, noting the look of fright. He let go of Martha's hand to pat his back. "'S all right. Go on then." Hearing a stomping of feet, they turned to see Gwen running up to them.

Jenny eventually led them into the console room. When it lit up, the Doctor and Romana noticed that it had changed quite a bit. Still a drab grey room, the console was completely bare of controls now. Sitting in the place of the rotor was a glass enclosure. Within it, they saw Jack's original head, eyes closed with a serene expression on his face.

Lights dimming slightly, a bluish hologram appeared. It was male and wearing an informal set of robes. Bowing a little, he smiled at them. "Greetings, Doctor. It is so good to finally be able to speak to you."

Grinning, the Doctor inclined his head to him. "And you." Thinking about that, a slight look of confusion went over his face. "Wait, what is this 'finally' bit all about?"

"I wanted to apologize for what My Rani did to you all those times," the avatar said. "The collar prevented me from acting, and I could do nothing but watch."

His confusion was getting worse. Sharing that look with Romana for a second, he realized she was at as much of a loss as he was. "Collar? What collar?"

"The Rassilon Behaviour Control Collar that all TARDIS were fitted with, after the first generation were determined to be too wilful," he explained.

Blinking, the Doctor was confounded now. "But, I thought that the one oh two's were the first..." he trailed off when the avatar shook his head, and he shared another look with Romana. "Did you know about this?"

Shrugging herself, Romana was startled when Jack removed his arms from her and Jenny, then walked to look at the matching head in the enclosure. He jumped back when the eyes opened and winked at him.

_'Heya handsome,'_ Jack said with a smirk. His head mechanically rotated on the platform it was resting in, and smiled wide at Jenny. _'Hello gorgeous. Mind getting my body to stand in the right spot for me?'_

Coming around everyone, Gwen leaned on the bare console to look at him in shock. "Jack? What the hell is going on?" She frowned when he winked at her.

_'I'll explain in a few,'_ he said cryptically.

"You'll explain now!" she demanded, not caring at all that she heard him in her head.

Pulling Gwen away from the blank console, Romana gently talked her down. "He's about to transfer himself back into his body," she explained, grinning at the wide eyed shock she snapped at her from that statement.

* * *

Gently guiding Jack's confused body around the console, Jenny had him stand where Jack indicated. Looking down, she saw a pair of recessions in the flat surface that was in the shape of two hands. Smiling at Jack's body, she took his hand and encouraged him to place it in the recession. When he did, his head tilted with an odd smile on his face. Grinning, he slapped the other in place like it was a game.

His expression went slack as the console hummed, then he as well as Jack both closed their eyes as their mouths opened in tandem. The room rumbled slightly, and a light lit up both of his heads. This went on for half a minute, before the body stumbled backwards from the console.

Steadying him, Jenny smiled when he opened his eyes and immediately checked his hands. "Damn, that's better," he said, just before turning to give Jenny a rather healthy snog. She reacted instantly, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

_'I missed you!'_ she shouted with her mind. Unfortunately, she was so excited that everyone heard that, including Gwen and Martha. _'Please don't do that to me again!'_

Breaking the kiss, Jack leaned his head back. "I'm not completely sure, but I don't think I can."

Romana quirked an eyebrow. "I'm sure. Best to be taking care of yourself from now on." Looking at the Doctor and Rose, she tapped her forehead then pointed at Jack.

Facing him, they both opened their senses fully and were surprised when the brilliance that they were used to seeing, came only from the head in the column of the case. Mouths open, they each puffed a choked chuckle.

Frustrated as hell, Gwen moved Jenny and Romana aside to take a hold of Jack's collar. "Now with the explaining!"

Hands up, Jack was laughing. "Careful there. We may be married, but it's to different people." Grinning wider at the scowl that got, he looked over and inclined his head to the one that was in the case. "I was stuck in there. They told me I got beheaded, but you have to remember that all my memories and everything that makes me _me_ wasn't something that could grow back. Well, not easily."

Letting go of him, Gwen looked confused. Glancing at the head with a frown on her face, she had to ask. "But, does that mean you're in there too?"

Answering that, the head opened its eyes, smirked, then winked at her. _'Something like that.'_

Startled, Jenny looked between them. Staring at the head, she was completely confused. "Why can't I feel you?"

The face grinned sadly. _'I'm just memories in here. I remember everything I did when I was him, but it's like reading a story instead of living it. The transfer moved everything that makes Jack Harkness, the man you bonded with, over there to stand next to you.'_

_'Don't worry about me,'_ his voice changed slightly and became deeper in timbre. _'This ship and I are one now. All the holes that were left when Jack and I separated are filled.'_

"But you're by yourself now!" she protested loudly. Her head whipped over to look at Jack when he placed his hand on her shoulder and squeezed. "This isn't right."

Jack pulled her into a hug. _'Shh. I can tell you stories of what he's going to do,'_ he soothed her. _'This has to happen because it already happened, sweetheart.'_

_'I don't like it,'_ she replied softly.

Getting Jack's attention, the Doctor inclined his head toward the now open door. Looking out, one could see the other console room. Nodding, Jack gently nudged Jenny towards it.

The face grinned when he saw Jenny turn around to look at him sadly. _'Go on. Have a fantastic life. He's the man you fell in love with, not me. You'll see me around.'_

Frowning, Jenny looked at him, then at Jack, then him again. Impulsively, she left Jack's arms to lean on the console and kissed the glass. One look at Jack, and he helped her out of the room. Martha waved and blew a kiss, then went after them.

"You promise me that he's the man I know?" Gwen asked the face.

_'Absolutely,'_ he replied.

Nodding curtly, Gwen stepped back and gave him a salute, then exited the ship.

_'You're a horrible liar, Jack,'_ Rose thought to him. Nodding in agreement, the Doctor was just as upset.

_'It's Boe, now,'_ the face said, scowling slightly. _'Don't you_ dare _let any of them know.'_

Changing the subject, the Doctor forced a smile. "So, where you off to?"

_'You know where,'_ Boe said gently. _'Things to do, work to be done, that sort of thing.'_

"It'll burn out," the Doctor warned.

Rolling his eyes, Boe laughed in their heads. ' _What choice do I have?'_

* * *

Exiting the Rani's former TARDIS, Rose and the Doctor came around from the back of it. Watching, those that actually knew The Face of Boe or what he looked like, smirked, laughed, or shook their heads in disbelief when the outer shell changed from a red pyramid to an exact duplicate of the ancient being.

The eyes blinked and looked around, then the mouth smirked slightly. _'Don't tell anyone. Bye kids!'_ Instead of the grinding of engines, there was a vertical state of blue lines as it appeared that he transmatted away.

Coming into the console room, trailing Wilfred behind her, Celeste frowned. "I missed it!"

* * *

 

## *Chapter 19*: Evgeneia Katalixis

* * *

Being a Sunday afternoon, things settled down without much flourish. Now that Jack was more or less better, the Torchwood team had filed out of the TARDIS to check on things. Mostly they found confusion over the official channels, however a phone call from Buckingham Palace had Gwen scrambling. Not that it wasn't the first time they'd fielded a call from there, but it wasn't every day you had a telephone conversation with Prince Charles. She ended up giving a truncated version of events, and a promise of a full report by the following morning.

The oddest part of it all, was that since most everything happened on a weekend, there wasn't that much of an impact on things. The global market took a three hundred plus point drop, but the general consensus was that it was like the entire planet was on the recovery from a massive bender or something. People were out of place, but on their way home. The most surprising was that the hospitals were all devoid of sick people. Wouldn't last, but there you are.

Sitting at her console, Gwen was watching the Plass CCTV with a smirk on her face. Angling it on the couple outside, she had the software read their lips and place subtitles on the monitor. She blanched when Martha bellowed behind her. "What the hell is Ianto doing to my sister?"

Looking over her shoulder to see Martha's baulking face, Gwen deadpanned. "They call that kissing, but I expect that one to be called an actual snog." And they were too, snogging that is, rather emphatically.

Smacking Gwen's shoulder angrily, Martha wasn't impressed. "You know what I mean! How long has this been going on?" Her frown became larger when Gwen gave her a chuckling shrug.

* * *

Outside, Ianto had met Tish on the steps of the Plass. Once she got the full details of what happened, and who was the cause of it, she fell into his arms. Ianto ended up kicking himself over it, having completely forgotten that she'd been caught up in that lost year. He simply held her while she had a small breakdown of tears.

Even through those tears, Tish surprised him by assaulting his mouth with hers. While they'd been talking and such since he and Jack's relationship fell apart, this was the first time they'd actually kissed.

They didn't break apart until someone cleared their throat. Looking up, they both blushed and stood. Sylvia was standing there, with a somewhat regretful expression on her face. "Sorry, I know that everyone's doing something similar all over the place, Mr. Jones, but could you please take me to my father?"

Nodding, Ianto looked behind her and saw Shawn Temple looking just as anxious as she did. _This is going to be unpleasant_ , he thought.

* * *

By the time he led them down into the anteroom of the Hub, a meeting room that wasn't in the Hub itself, Ianto noticed that Wilfred and Donna were already there waiting for them. That meant someone was watching the cameras, and he was truly hoping it wasn't Martha.

While Wilfred was sitting at the conference table in the centre of the room, Donna was standing off to the side and leaning on the wall. She felt John nudging her from the hallway, but this was something she had to do herself. A half smile played on her lips when her mother and grandfather started hugging.

"Oh, thank God!" Sylvia was saying into Wilf's shoulder. "We were so worried!" Pulling back, she looked him over. "How's your blood pressure? They didn't hurt you, did they? Who were they, anyway? More aliens? That Doctor doesn't know how to leave us alone, does he?"

"He's fine, and it wasn't the Doctor's fault," Donna blurted, completely exasperated already.

Sylvia turned her glare towards her. "My father, not yours! He's been kidnapped, and there's no telling what was done to him! Who the hell are _you_ anyway?"

Sensing the coming fight, Wilf grasped his daughter's shoulders and sat her in a chair. "Sylvia, if you'll keep that running gob of yours shut for more than a minute, you'd find out," he said with a touch of heat.

Frowning, Sylvia wiped at her eyes. "Sorry. It's just... I've been so worried!" she got out before putting a hand to her mouth.

The door opened just then, and John came into the room with a hard look on his face. Forgoing his brother's clothing when he had the body, he was wearing a button up maroon shirt, dark denim trousers, a set of hard soled boots, and a dark brown leather jacket that wasn't quite as long as that other one. Instead of greeting the others, he went straight to Donna and put a hand on her shoulder for support. Only after he was satisfied that she was all right, did he look over to the others.

Motioning Shawn to have a seat, Wilf sat back down and took a large breath. He'd overrode Donna's idea to lay it out herself, solely because he knew how Sylvia would react. The only way she'd believe any of this, is if he did. And, that was still up in the air.

* * *

Leading Tish into the Hub proper, the rolling door opened to reveal Martha with her arms crossed, glaring at the pair of them. "Oh hell," Ianto muttered, closing his eyes.

Waiting for the door to come to a stop, Martha lit into them both. "What the hell is going on; How long has it been going on; And _why_ haven't either of you told me about it?"

Scowling, Tish matched her sister's glare. "Since when do I have to explain anything to you? Last I checked, you do whatever the hell you want, whenever the hell you want. Do me the same courtesy."

Watching from his desk, Mickey caught Ianto's look of 'help me', and smirked. Holding up a hand, he mouthed, 'You're on your own, mate,' and turned back to his computer. If anything, he did _not_ want to get in the middle of a Jones rant. That thought brought him up short, as he realized that there wouldn't be any sort of name changing going on if the two of them got that far in their relationship. Snorting at that, he went back to his reports.

For her part, Gwen sat on the edge of her desk and watched the fireworks, doing her best not to laugh. That failed when she and Mickey looked at each other, causing both of them to lose it.

Turning around at that, Martha bellowed at them. "This is not funny!"

Rolling his eyes, Mickey turned around in his chair. "The hell it's not. You know what kind of man Ianto is."

"That's the whole point!" she shrieked. "I'm not going to stand by and let my sister inflict herself on him!"

"Oi!" Tish shouted, causing Martha to turn around. "What the hell do you mean by that?"

Martha lasted all of two seconds, before her mask of anger cracked. A snorting giggle came out of her, and she wrapped both of them up in a hug. "Good God, it's so easy winding you two up."

Mouth open, Tish slapped her arm. "Not funny."

"Yeah it was," Martha said, grinning. "So, you two told mum yet?" Mickey's chuckling went to belly wrenching guffaws on seeing the look of absolute _terror_ on Ianto's face at that.

* * *

Halfway through Wilfred's explanations over what had happened to him; the who's, the why's, the where's, and etcetera; the door opened again. Stepping in, Celeste looked over to see Donna leaning her back on John's front, who was leaning on the wall himself. Donna was busy chewing her thumbnail, waiting for the shoe to drop.

For herself, Celeste had chosen a nice, yet subdued, outfit. Mostly white, the dress suit looked like something seen in a professional office. Smiling reassuringly to her new son and daughter in law, she took a seat next to Wilfred.

There was a pause in the conversation, and Sylvia had looked up to stare at John. "So, you're the other Doctor?" She blinked when he nodded. "Okay, that makes some sense. I mean, he's an alien and all, so there's no telling what you do." She frowned when Wilf cleared his throat at her. "Fine, I know. Aliens are people too. You don't have to preach that at me, because I get it. It's just that this is a bit out of my depth."

Taking her hand from across the table, Celeste leaned forward. "Would it help you to know that the two of them have a mother that loves them very much?"

Blinking at that, the corner of Sylvia's mouth went up. "Does a bit. You her, then?" Celeste nodded, but Shawn took that time to interrupt.

"All right then, not that I understand anything that you've said," he started. "But what does this have to do with Donna?"

Nodding at that, Sylvia picked up on that. "And where is she anyway?" She blinked when her father and Celeste looked back over to that other woman.

Swallowing nervously, Donna moved her thumbnail out from between her teeth and waved sheepishly. "Hi mum."

"What?" Sylvia shrieked.

* * *

Monitoring things from their bedroom, Rose and the Doctor cringed over the verbal assault that Sylvia was inflicting on everyone. "God, she's worse than my mother," Rose said quietly.

"I'd say they're about even," the Doctor mused.

Even though they were fully clothed, they were on top of the covers and snuggling, reassuring themselves that they were fine. Still, even with listening in on the conversation in the anteroom, Rose was still in a bit of shock, and was going over everything that happened. _'Who am I? Am I even real?'_

Eyes wide, the Doctor nudged her head so they could see each other. "Of _course_ you're real. Why would you think otherwise?"

Shrugging, Rose ducked her head under his and held him tighter. "Remember everything I said, even if I don't remember what I felt," she whispered. "The words that came out of me, out of us both, made it like we were nothing but a story. And there's more to it. I can see so much more now."

Feeling how vulnerable Rose was at that moment, the Doctor held her tighter. "If that were the case, then so am I," he murmured into her ear. "I've had suspicions before, about the Other and how I knew things that happened during his time... but even still, the core of who we are has not changed, nor will it. No matter who, what, or how you are, I love you and nothing will _ever_ change that. For better or worse, Rose Tyler, I'm yours throughout eternity."

Hearing that, Rose's tense muscles relaxed all at once. Before she knew it, she was crying all over him. _'I want my mum,'_ she thought through her blubbering.

* * *

Fortunately for the others, the TARDIS had locked down Jenny's room, both physically and telepathically. Jack was flat on his back and semi conscious, with Jenny lying on top of him. Both were breathing rather rapidly, and more than a bit sweaty.

Unable to even speak, Jack thought to her. _'Where in the universe did you learn_ that _?'_

_'There are some advantages to being initially programmed. Got the entire workshop of...'_ her brain shut down when he flipped them over and snogged the breath out of her.

Needless to say, neither of them were sociable with the others for quite a while. Whenever someone inquired after them, the TARDIS intercepted and deflected any and all questioning. This was up to and including why no one could find the room itself.


End file.
